Error, fairytale magic input failure
by poakkis
Summary: Arranged marriages don't always end up like in fairytales. While the fairy is messing around somewhere and not doing her job, the magicless tale involves fist fights, confusion, denial and a whole lot of sadistic remarks. OkiKagu
1. Chapter 1

**I finally worked up the courage to put this up. This is the AU OkiKagu story I mentioned to some people a loooong time ago, and truthfully, it's already really old. I wrote the original first chapter something like three years ago! Obviously I've rewritten it countless of times already, but now I finally decided to put it up. **

**So, depending on how the public (that means you, my reader) receives this, I'll continue onto the next chapter. So, as always, I'd like you to leave reviews or/and send PMs and let me know your honest opinions. ^.^**

**Oh, and don't mind the title, it was something I came up with in the spur of the moment...maybe I'll change it later, maybe I'll end up being too lazy xD  
><strong>

**Now then, I hope at least someone read my ramblings. I won't keep you any longer, go on and read my fairytale OkiKagu!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama.**

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><p><strong>Whoever said arranged marriages are fine should be shot! Part 1<strong>

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Umibouzu fought the urge to dive for shelter as he faced his enraged daughter. "You heard me, Kagura. It's been decided that you will be engaged to His Highness."

Kagura glared at her father even harder. "Can't you do anything, baldy?"

"It's daddy and no, this is final," Umibouzu answered and left the room. Once outside he let out a sigh. _'Sorry about that, Kagura, but daddy wants you to get married and Kamui already arranged everything with Her Highness. Besides, you always wanted to be a queen, right? Now you'll become one! Daddy always thinks what's best for his little girl!'_

The one left in the room was completely oblivious to her father's good intentions. Kagura just couldn't accept the fact that she was to become the prince's bride. She had never even seen him! She didn't want to get involved in troublesome things concerning royalty, so she never bothered meeting them. That was quite a feat considering that her father was a general in the imperial army and her brother was the captain of the special unit. Kagura couldn't care less about that. She just wanted to live her life as she wanted, to be free from any duties, not to get married at the tender age of 17! Well, engaged, but it leads to marriage!

Slamming doors as she went, Kagura made her way outside. She needed some fresh air...and someone to beat up.

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><p>It was silent in the room. Too silent. It was even more silent than silence itself. It was like all sound had vanished, except it was more silent than that.<p>

"Sou-chan?" Mitsuba asked softly, worried about her little brother's reaction. "Are you alright, Sou-chan?"

"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me, sister," Sougo answered, smiling. Too bad Mitsuba could tell it was a fake one.

"Sou-chan, I know this is really sudden, but you're already 21. If you really aim to be the king, you should at least be engaged by now," Mitsuba explained with a worried frown. "And since you never show any interest in the women who visit the palace, I had no choice but to accept this proposition."

Sougo looked away from his sister. "Then whose brilliant idea was this? Her father's?" If he had to deal with an old man hungry for power, he'd rather kill them all.

"Actually, it was her older brother's. And since she's quite a strong minded person, as I have heard, I thought that you might not get tired of her so easily..."

Sougo sighed and stood up. "Thank you for worrying about me, sister. When will I meet her?"

"Sou-chan, we can always call it off -"

"When?" he pressed.

Mitsuba frowned slightly. "In a week, at the engagement party. Her brother called it tradition not to let the couple meet until they are to be joined, or something like that. I am not too familiar with their traditions, but wish to honour them."

"I see. I will take my leave, now."

Once outside the room, Sougo turned to glare at the first thing he saw. It happened to be a maid, and the poor soul fainted from the look that screamed bloody murder and endless torture to the world.

He couldn't believe this. An arranged marriage? With someone he'd never met before?

Sougo started walking (coughstompingcough) out of the palace. He couldn't blame his sister, she had only been thinking about his future, and he refused to blame himself. It wasn't his fault that none of those money-obsessed freaks of nature interested him. So, he decided that it was Hijikata's fault. As a side note, Hijikata Toushiro was a high ranked army official, Mitsuba's husband and Sougo's number one enemy.

Sougo stopped once he got outdoors. Taking a car would surely attract unwanted attention, so he decided to walk. He took the road that led to the outskirts of the city: the streets of night, Kabuki district, where anyone could go incognito.

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><p>Kagura kept on punching the bum she had pinned on the ground. His lip was bleeding, he had several bruises and his nose was most likely badly broken but Kagura didn't give a shit about his condition. Plus, he seemed to like it, so why stop? They both felt better so everything was cool.<p>

"Oh, how I HATE that baldy!" Kagura yelled and pulled a fistful of the bum's hair out. "How dare he marry me off like that! I don't care if it's some big shot man with money and power, I'll hate him! I'll ruin his life for good!"

"Share the pain, girl! Share the pain!" the bum slurred.

"Thank you, old bum!"

And so she kept beating him to a pulp and they were both having a good time.

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><p>Sougo wandered aimlessly around Kabuki. A casino, a bar, a brothel, a nightclub, another brothel...truly the shady part of the otherwise proper city. None of this truly interested him, though he did sometimes sneak out to play around, but at least his face wasn't known that well around there.<p>

He kept wandering until he ended up in an alley. He was just about to turn around and go back when his ears picked up some rather interesting sounds. He decided to follow the noise and what he saw surprised him: a girl dressed in chinese clothes was beating up a bum and yelling about hating someone.

Sougo blinked a couple of times and even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things before he smirked. He could entertain himself a little.

"Hey, can I share some pain, too?"

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><p>Kagura stopped in midpunch and slowly turned to face the owner of the voice. She was now face to face with a young man, not much older than she was, with light brown hair that slightly fell over his reddish brown eyes.<p>

_'A pretty boy?' _Kagura thought with a slight frown. _'He sure has fancy clothes. Maybe a noble?'_

She took another look at him and felt her stomach twist painfully. _'So my gut finds him that disgusting, huh...'_

"Who the hell are you?"

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><p>He was very much surprised yet again as he looked at her. He was expecting a total gangster with scars and a broken nose, but she was just a normal girl. Well, what with bright orange hair, shockingly blue eyes, pearl white skin and crude vocabulary.<p>

Taking a look at her body, Sougo snorted. _'Can't even talk about sex appeal. Even a nine year old has more curves than she does.' _Even though he knew he was understating her shape, he had a bad feeling about admitting that she was actually quite attractive. So he didn't, not even to himself.

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><p>Kagura snapped. "The hell you snorting at, brat?"<p>

"Take a good look at yourself before calling other people brats, China," he deadpanned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sex appeal: zero."

Kagura shot up from her sitting position on the now unconscious bum. "You want a piece of me, bastard?"

"I doubt you'd taste any good, so no thanks."

That smartass comment was the last straw.

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><p>Sougo bearly had enough time to draw his sword to block the girl's umbrella. <em>'From the Yato clan?' <em>he thought as his face was just inches from her ferocious snarl. _'Well, why not?'_

"It isn't nice to charge at someone like that all of a sudden. What if I hadn't brought my sword with me today?"

She smirked evilly. "Then you would be dead."

"Exactly, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" he asked playfully.

"Speak for yourself!" she yelled in his face and pushed him back, jumping away herself. "It's your lucky day, I'll spare your life for now."

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><p>Kagura opened her umbrella and shielded herself from the sun. <em>'I've been in the sun enough for today,' <em>she thought and walked right past the annoying young man.

"Oh? Are you running away?" he called after her in that annoying deadpan-tone.

She turned to glare at him. "I have better things to do than play with small fry. My brother is coming home and I will not miss him this time."

He sighed and sheathed his sword. "Excuses, excuses. Fine, I'll leave it at this, China. Not like I'd meet you again, anyway. You were a good way to pass time," he said idly and started walking in the opposite direction, climbing over the fence and disappearing from sight.

Kagura was seething. "A passtime? I was just used to pass some freakin' time?" she screamed after him. "You fucking sadistic bastard! I hope you get eaten by a rabid dog!"

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><p>And thus their fated first meeting came to its end.<p>

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><p><strong>Remember, there's a difference between constructive feedback and nonsense flaming ^.^<strong>

**~poakkis  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, thank you so much for the favs and alerts, they made me so happy! And the 5 reviews I received made me even happier, so an even bigger thank you to extremely anonymous reviewer (thank you for reviewing my stories, your reviews really make me laugh, it's a bit hard to do this since you're so anonymous, but you know who you are), kamikorosuXP, Ayjah, Koatan and Lemonpop (eheh, sorry for taking so long with the update...)! You guys rock!**

**Then I'd like to say that I'm sorry that it took a month to get the next chapter up. I'm most certainly not one of the I-update-every-week-on-the-same-day writers. And since this is a rewrite of a story written years ago, I have to rethink a lot of stuff to keep the plot going and characters in-character. It's hard, I tell you, especially since I'm such a lazy bum xD**

**I guess that was all of my blabbering for now. Enjoy chapter two of EFMIF! ^.^**

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><p><strong>You always meet someone unexpected at a party!<strong>

In her room at the Yato mansion Kagura sighed tiredly. It had been a week since she met that sadistic yet, annoyingly enough, handsome man and she had yet to get him out of her thoughts. It was strange, she had never been like this before.

Someone knocked at her door. "Kagura, are you even trying to get ready? We have to leave for the party soon, you have no time to waste." It was her father again. He had been pestering her since five am, and no amount of violence could keep him away. He had a reason, quite a valid one at that, though.

Today was the day of Kagura's engagement party. It was also the day she would meet the crown prince face to face for the first time. The day she would leave her family estate to live in the palace with her fiancé. In short...

"The worst day of my life," Kagura mumbled darkly and sighed yet again.

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><p>At the royal palace Sougo was throwing knives in his room, his target being a picture of Hijikata. Even if his poker face revealed nothing, Sougo was actually experiencing the worst emotional storm since Mitsuba got married. He was annoyed by the whole ordeal of getting engaged, had no desire to go to the party, was resolved to please his dear sister even at the expense of his own sanity and, strangely enough, he was upset for some reason he couldn't quite figure out. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he hadn't been able to forget the violent girl whose face had stubbornly etched itself into his memory and wouldn't let him forget it. Especially those clear blue eyes that fearlessly glared at him, seeing <span>him<span>, not the prince...

_'I must be going mental,' _he thought as he successfully hit Hijikata's picture between the eyes. _'There's no other way to explain this.'_

"Sougo-sama," a maid called for him from the hallway, "it is time for you to join the party. Do you need assistance with your preparations?"

"No. I'll be there in five minutes," he answered.

"Understood. Please excuse me."

Sougo waited until he was sure that the hallway outside his door was empty before flopping down on his huge bed. He closed his eyes and sighed resignedly.

_'A random stranger is coming to live with me, to sleep in my bed and most likely to spend the rest of her life with me, and I'm supposed to love her,' _he thought and chuckled bitterly. "This sucks."

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><p>Kagura looked around her like a wary animal. Soon after they had arrived she had lost sight of Umibouzu and her elder brother, the only ones she knew in that unfamiliar environment that screamed 'rich' and 'high class'. As if she wasn't experiencing enough hardship and emotional stress already, she was now all alone among people dressed in their finest, sizing her up and down with their hard gazes and whispering amongst themselves. Usually she wouldn't be bothered by such behaviour, she was used to it after all, but with everything else weighing her down she was starting to get extremely uncomfortable.<p>

Suddenly as she was passing a pack of young women one of them knocked over her glass, sending all of the liquid flying towards Kagura. Left with no time to react, Kagura could only watch in shock as her beautiful yellow dress was stained with red wine, the stain covering a fist sized area on her left hip.

"Oops, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ruin the dress of the lady of the day," the woman apologised with a look of extreme satisfaction on her face. Her friends snickered behind her.

Kagura raised her chin up and glared up at the taller woman haughtily. "Oh, if it isn't the lady who wasn't good enough for the prince! I heard you were too old for his taste!" she commented loudly. Of course it was a blatant lie, but she was extremely pissed off. That dress was one of her favorites, and that jealous bitch had ruined it!

Kagura swiftly turned around and walked away with dignity before any of the women got over their shock. _'That's it, I'm getting out of here!'_

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><p>Sougo's patience was quickly running thin. Sure, her respectful father and ever-so-annoying brother had arrived, but the most important person herself had somehow gotten lost on the way. To add to his foul mood he had had to socialize with desperate and not-so-bright women everywhere he went and keep up the polite and friendly facade.<p>

Sougo frowned as he scanned the crowd. He was looking for a girl who looked to be lost and was wearing a yellow dress with a delicate flower pattern on the left side. He hadn't caught even a glimpse of her yet. Just more annoying women vying for his attention.

_'This is ridiculous. I'm going back, someone else can find that troublesome woman.'_

He turned around to return to his table when he ran into someone. Staggering back a few steps he got ready to apologise but stopped when he saw who it was. _'No way, it can't be...'_

"Watch where you're going, jerk! Are you blind?" the girl yelled and looked up to glare at him with those shockingly blue eyes full of fury.

_'It is.' _"Hello to you, too, China. Fancy meeting you here."

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><p>Kagura's eyes widened in surprise. <em>'No way in freaking hell, it's him!' <em>"What...are you doing here...?" Her speech was much quieter and slower compared to her earlier outburst.

He blinked. "That's my question. What are you doing here?" he asked back.

Kagura crossed her arms stubbornly. "I asked first so you have to answer my question first," she demanded.

He opened his mouth to say something but then stopped. Instead of speaking, he looked at her from head to toe and back up. His gaze was making her nervous and she felt her face heat up. _'Why am I blushing? Stupid body!'_

"Hey China," he asked, suddenly sounding very nervous. "Did you come here with someone?"

Kagura frowned. "Yes, with my father and big brother. Why? Wait, you just avoided my earlier question!"

"You don't happen to be lost, do you?" he asked, completely ignoring her questions, his face paling at an alarming rate.

"Well, maybe a little...hey, are you okay? You look paler than I do."

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><p><em>'No way, this is a nightmare, it has to be!' <em>Sougo practically screamed in his head. "No, I'm in no way okay right now. This is your engagement party, isn't it?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

She blushed. "Yeah, what about it?"

Right then and there Sougo seriously considered pulling out his sword and slicing his throat open. Or killing everyone else in the vicinity. Or maybe he'd just settle with killing China.

"You're acting stranger than last time. Don't tell me you fell in love at first sight or something?" she taunted him and laughed obnoxiously.

"No, I'm planning my death right now so shut up for a minute, China," he said and ran a hand through his hair. _'This is crazy. I can't get married with the China monster.'_

"I could assist you if it's death you want," she offered a bit too eagerly. "But why do you wish to die all of a sudden?"

Sougo sighed and leaned onto a pole that was conveniently next to him. "It's because I don't want to even think about marrying my fiancée."

"Eh, you're getting married, too? Who's the unlucky soul?" she asked curiously.

"You."

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><p>A moment of silence passed between them while Kagura tried to digest than one bit of information. "Huh?" she finally asked in disbelief.<p>

"This is our engagement party. You and I are engaged and supposed to get married in the near future. What part is too hard to understand?"

"So...you're the prince?" Kagura practically screamed, attracting a lot of attention from the nearby guests. "No! Absolutely no! There's no way I could live with a sadistic jerk like you!"

"If you think I want to live with a China monster, you're dead wrong," he answered with a look that screamed disgust.

Kagura growled and lashed out at him. "You -!"

"Kagura-chan!"

She froze and turned to see her father walking towards them with a stonehard expression on his face. "Papi," she muttered in surprise.

"I know that you show affection in your own "violent love"-way, but the guests might not understand the way you two flirt," another voice, much more melodic, came from a nearby table.

Kagura whirled around and glared at the young man sipping his tea. "Kamui," she growled, "what do you mean by -?"

She was cut off when she was jerked back as the prince pulled her to him and draped his arm over her shoulders. "We're sorry if we caused some misunderstandings. Come now, I'll take you to our table," he said in a sugarcoated voice, smiled charmingly and started leading her away.

At first Kagura tried to wriggle out of his hold but then he leaned down to whisper in her ear: "If you don't want to lose face and honor, you'd better be a good girl now."

She involuntarily shuddered as his breath tickled her ear and cheek, but upon noticing the looks people were giving them she understood his point. _'Well, if I mess up here I don't have to marry him. But if I do that, no one will ever want to marry me and our family probably loses all of its status. Ugh, why me?' _she thought and resisted the urge to scream. She glanced up at her fiancé. _'But then again, despite his rotten nature, I might learn to like him eventually.' _Kagura laughed at her thoughts. _'As if! Not in this life!'_

"Hmm, so even China can smile."

Kagura looked his way only to find his mockingly smirking face an inch from hers. She yelped and jumped away from him, her face flushed and eyes wide, her finger pointing at him accusingly. "D-don't come so close to me! And who said that I can't smile, huh?" she yelled at him.

"Your angry face is pretty much all I've seen so far, so you can't actually blame me for being surprised. If you smiled more often people might actually like you," he deadpanned, reverting to his passive self.

"Who would smile for a jerk like you?"

"You're blushing."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not, you, you...!"

He smirked again, his smirk making Kagura's blush worse, and took the few confident steps needed to stand right in front of her raised hand. He took a rather tight hold of it with his own and locked eyes with her. "Okita Sougo. Welcome to the family, China."

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><p><strong>Sorry if you were expecting a brawl, but remember that they are at a formal party, not in some bar, and they are expected to behave themselves in front of guests. The fist fights will have to wait ^.^"<strong>

**So, even if it is "this is good/crap" or "update faster or I'll shoot you", please leave a review! ^.^**

**~~poakkis  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Awws, I LOVE MY REVIEWERS! You made me so happy I decided to update a lot faster this time xD So, another round of thanks for Amanto, kamikorosuXP, Ayjah, Koatan, Alice P e a c h e s, peep (well, you made me smile widely with your review, so we're even, yes? And please don't shoot me, even if I encouraged such a threat (not one of my brightest ideas...), since then you'd never find out how this fic ends xD) and Shinichi's Lover! ^.^**

**Yes, I know this chapter is really short, but the original rough draft was only half of this version's length! I was tempted to add this to some other chapter, but it didn't fit well anywhere, so it ended up as a chapter of its own...and I couldn't think of _anything _to lengthen it more! T.T**

**A random fact: I was rereading my rough drafts and realised that I hardly even _mention _Kamui! O.O And it's all his handiwork that our two sadists got together! How could I ignore him like that? I'm such a bad mother! So, I had to come up with some scenes for him on the spot, and I don't usually work that way so sorry if his parts will suck from now on... T.T**

**And, well, you got an update a lot sooner than last time, so...forgive me? :puppy eyes:**

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><p><strong>Peaceful sleep is just a faraway dream!<strong>

"This is the border. This is my side, that's yours. The one to cross the line gets punished by the other. Deal?"

"Deal."

The grudgingly engaged couple climbed into Sougo's huge bed, settled as far away from each other as possible, shared a glare and turned their backs on each other. It was their first night together but...

"This totally ruined my dreams of marriage," Kagura muttered into the darkness and growled rather loudly. "Why do I have to stay here with you?"

"Don't place the blame on me, I'd rather drink poison than share a bed with you. Actually, you could just die so that I don't have to get married with you," Sougo answered with his usual not-that-I-care tone.

"You should go and die, bastard," Kagura snapped. "Is there really no way to cancel this?"

"That's what sister said," Sougo answered tiredly, having gone through this same conversation at least fifty times since they left the party.

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><p>"Sister!"<p>

After the party ended, Sougo and Kagura marched straight to Mitsuba. She turned to them with a happy smile. "Congratulations, you two! You make such a cute couple," she said and smiled brightly.

"Sister, I'm sorry to ruin your happy mood but we can't go through with this engagement," Sougo said with such a serious face it almost scared her.

Mitsuba's smile dropped into a confused frown. "Why? What happened?"

"Your Highness, I'm terribly sorry to break the illusion but we can't stand each other," Kagura explained and shot a dirty glare at her fiancé for proof.

"Oh, is, is that so," Mitsuba mumbled and turned her gaze away from them uneasily.

That was when Hijikata decided to step into the picture. "What's with that look, Mitsuba? Did something happen?" he asked as he lit a cigarette.

Mitsuba turned to her husband with a worried look. "Umm, you see, Toushiro-san, these two say that they want to break up."

Hijikata blew some smoke out of his system and closed his eyes before saying: "That's impossible now."

"What?" the two unlucky people yelled in shock.

Hijikata turned his piercing gaze to them. "You have already been branded a happily engaged couple by the people. Impressive acting, I admit. But if you break up now, you will both ruin your images for life. Sougo won't be able to become a trusted ruler, though that's already a given considering his personality, and little miss here will most likely never get another proposal since no one would take a woman who called off a happy engagement with the prince after being officially engaged for less than five hours. In other words, you would ruin your futures if you broke up."

"You didn't mention about losing the profits our house earns from this, sir," an amused voice commented from above.

The four looked up only to find a cheerily grinning Kamui waving at them from a tree. "Kamui," Kagura hissed, "what the hell went through your head when you signed me up for this?"

"Hmm, let's see," Kamui hummed and cupped his chin in thought. "Well, besides the bride price they give and the likely increase in jobs, meaning I get to kill more people, I'd say I was thinking about your happiness. You are a lousy little sister and too weak to be called a true Yato, but I still don't want you to grow too old for marriage. Knowing you, no one else would take you," Kamui finished with a grin.

Kagura was seething. "That last bit about my happiness is complete bull, and we both know it! You're just fucking around with my life again, just like when mom died!" she accused.

Kamui tilted his head to the side, still grinning happily. "Oh, but that was to strengthen the family. You didn't die, so nothing wrong with that."

"As if! You just wanted to hurt someone! I hate you!" Kagura practically screamed, the three uninvolved people backing away from the two.

Kamui didn't answer anything to that. Instead, he jumped down and bowed. "It was a pleasure to attend this party, my gratitude for the invitation. I hope my sister won't cause you too much trouble," he formally said before taking his leave, disappearing into the crowd of servants cleaning the area.

Kagura had never before felt so humiliated, angry and depressed. "I'll have your head for this, Kamui!" she yelled after him.

An awkward silence followed her statement. Finally, Hijikata coughed. "At least you can torture each other till the bitter end," he commented dryly.

"But you know the old saying," Mitsuba said as lightheartedly as she could. "The strongest love comes from the strongest hate."

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><p>"I can't believe you're related to Mitsuba-san. She's so gentle, like a mother. You, on the other hand, are just a sadistic brat."<p>

"You're every bit as annoying as your brother, though," Sougo commented.

"Kamui's in a league of his own, dumbass!" Kagura sighed heavily. "I can't believe I have to give my marriage kiss to someone like you!"

"Then just die in your sleep. Drown in your own drool or something," Sougo retorted heartlessly and pulled a bizarre sleeping mask over his eyes.

"Why don't you try swallowing your pillow and suffocate," she snarled back, only to be answered by soft murmurs as he started counting Hijikata's corpses.

"Don't count such disgusting things when I'm right here!"

He switched to China's corpses.

"YOU SADISTIC BASTARD!"

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><p><strong>So, that's it for now. We will take a closer look at their thoughts and feelings in the next chapter, so please wait for it patiently! <strong>

**~poakkis**


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally! I got it done! Longest chapter yet, and it was a pain in the ass to rewrite, I tell ya! I HATE SUMMER! It's too hot to even think straight! .**

**Once again, to thank my lovely, lovely reviewers: Ayjah, peep (thanks for waiting, and yeah, I totally agree with you there xD), Alice P e a c h e s, Amanto, Koatan, KamikorosuXP, Shinichi's Lover, haruhi-chan (your English is plenty good, no worries! Thank you so much for your warm words, they made my confidence boost up ^.^), Ginlover (thank you~) and Lingering Embrace! Thank you for the new alerts, also (sorry for not remembering who alerted...)! You guys rock! **

**Just to clear up some things, I'm making up some customs of my own for this story. For all I know they are not official rules and customs anywhere on our planet. So don't be surprised if there are some customs clearly not Christian or something, okay?  
><strong>

**So, since I'm starting to slowly but surely get inside their heads, you can expect the main couple to appear slightly ooc. Nothing too bad, I hope...**

**Please enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Getting to know someone I don't want to know is a pain in the ass, so I'd rather not do it.<strong>

Morning came with a brilliant sunrise lighting up the world. Birds sang with joy and people woke up from their slumber to a fresh day. The servants in the palace had woken up long before sunrise, and were happily greeting each other good morning while working. Everyone was excited, and no wonder, since there was a new lady in the house.

"I wonder what she would like for breakfast..."

"Do you think she'd like that dress?"

"Hmm, I think red would suit her better, though..."

"Do you think they had a rough night?"

"Oh, stop it, that's-"

The servants' chatter was cut short as they noticed the crown prince and his fiancée coming down the stairs. Instead of greeting them good morning like they should have, they just gaped at the sight. The couple ignored everyone else and marched onwards, glaring at each other all the way.

As they disappeared form sight, a maid whispered: "What do you think happened?"

Another shook her head slowly. "No idea..."

"Did you see that?" a young boy asked from his seat on a high ladder, window-washing long forgotten.

"Yeah, I swear I've never seen a glaring match with that much killing intent before..." the one securing the ladder answered.

It should be obvious to everyone what ended up being the subject of the servants' gossip that morning.

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><p>Mitsuba and Hijikata were already halfway through their breakfast when the dining hall's doors banged open. The two snapped their gazes to the couple standing in the doorway. Mitsuba's 'good morning' died in her throat as she took in their appearences. "Oh my, what happened?" she asked, worried and awfully amused at the same time.<p>

"Just a little lover's quarrel and some strange fetish of Sougo's, I guess." Hijikata obviously wasn't very interested.

Sougo turned to glare at him with his right eye, his left being too swollen and bruised to see with. Kagura, too, glared at him in her maid uniform. Interestingly enough, her hands were cuffed.

For a moment Mitsuba thought that her husband's guess might very well be correct. "So, what exactly happened to you two?" she asked with a frown.

"This guy," Kagura paused long enough to kick him from behind, making him stumble slightly, "made me feel sick by counting corpses to fall asleep so I punched him."

"And doing so," Sougo continued and stomped on Kagura's foot, making her wince in pain, "she crossed the border and I get to punish her. She'll follow me as a maid all day today."

Mitsuba made to wipe her mouth with a napkin, desperately trying to keep her laughter in. "I see," was all she could say.

Hijikata sighed tiredly. "Just make sure to keep her alive. Meaning no starving or overworking."

Sougo snorted. "Like I would let her off the hook that easily. If I have to suffer for the rest of my life, so does she."

Kagura resisted the urge to spit on his face. "The hatred is mutual, damn sadist," she growled under her breath before sitting down on an available seat and starting to stuff her face with food. She didn't exactly trust her _oh so wonderful _fiancé, no matter what he said.

Sougo also sat down, taking his seat next to his sister, and started eating. Mitsuba glanced at him from the corner of her eye before turning to speak with Kagura. "Well, Kagura-chan, how do you like our home?"

Kagura brightened up immediately, a wide grin taking over her face. "It's huge! It's easily three times bigger than our place! There's so much to see, and I really like the paintings I saw yesterday, especially the ones with landscapes. They look so real," she told excitedly.

Mitsuba smiled and giggled slightly at her enthusiasm. "I'm happy to hear that. I also like those paintings, I selected some myself."

"Really? You have good taste. My favourite is the one with moonlit mountains and wolves, it gave me the chills with it's eerie beauty," Kagura grinned at the memory.

Sougo stood up abruptly. "Thank you for the meal. Let's go, China," he said and started to walk towards the doors.

Kagura scowled at him. "Hello, I'm having a conversation here!"

Sougo gave her a deadpan look. "You can chat all you want at dinner. I'm a busy person and you're a maid so that makes you busy, too. We're going."

Kagura glared at him before standing up. "Thank you for the meal," she mumbled through gritted teeth before she followed Sougo out of the room.

After the door closed behind the two, Mitsuba burst into giggles. Even Hijikata gave an amused snort.

"That must've been quite uncomfortable for him," Hijikata commented as he lit a cigarette.

Mitsuba nodded, a twinkle of mirth in her eyes. "Who would've guessed that they had the same favourite painting?"

"They might be more alike than we thought."

"I think Sou-chan is already intrigued by her."

"Huh? Care to repeat that? I think I misheard you."

"Oh, you wouldn't understand!"

* * *

><p>After Sougo and Kagura had gotten a cold compress for Sougo's eye they started on their (Sougo's) busy schedule.<p>

"So, where are we going?" Kagura asked, putting hostilities aside for now.

"To study," Sougo replied shortly.

"Study?" Kagura echoed, but Sougo ignored her.

They soon entered the library where a middle aged man in a formal suit was waiting for them. He stood up from his seat and bowed elegantly. "Your Highness, I'm delighted to see you on this fair morning."

"Counting on you again, professor," Sougo nodded at him and turned to Kagura. "You, go sit over there and don't make a single sound."

Kagura scowled, her temper starting to come forth yet again. "So I'm just supposed to sit and wait like some puppy?"

"Yeah, that's about it."

Kagura kicked his shin, making him yelp in pain. She huffed and stalked to an armchair nearby. She dropped down on it, crudely crossed her legs and turned her face away from the glaring prince.

"Your Highness!" the professor panicked. "Are you alright? How dare you hurt His Highness! Beg for forgiveness at once!"

"Leave it," Sougo snapped at him and sat down, nursing his throbbing leg. "Let's get started."

The professor was baffled but complied, and after sending another haughty glare at Kagura he started a long lesson on something Kagura had no motivation to listen to. She was determined not to spare a single glance towards them.

_'How can he talk like that to a girl? He's rotten to the core!' _Kagura raved in her mind._ 'Mitsuba-san's prediction can't be right, no way. I mean, who would be able to even like, __not to mention love, a jerk like him?'_

Kagura turned her attention to the books around her. They all had complicated titles and Kagura guessed they were about politics, the subject she never grasped. When problems arose, she was more likely to use her fists rather than some pretty words. Then again, pretty much all of the Yato were like that...

Taking another look around the library, Kagura noticed that it was quite well designed. There were what looked like thousands of books, but there was still enough room to breath and move freely around and the sun's rays lit the room up, shining through large windows. There were three levels in the room, each one's walls filled with books. She got a bit dizzy looking at the bookfilled walls so she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Or that's what she thought...

* * *

><p>"...and that ends today's lesson. Please find some time to review the contents."<p>

Sougo stretched his arms and yawned. These lessons were seriously boring to him, especially since the professor was so formal and stiff. Sougo turned to see what Kagura was doing, since she really had stayed quiet for the whole lesson. He blinked in surprise when he saw her sleeping on the chair. _'Well, at least she stayed quiet.'_

The professor tsked disapprovingly. "What an impolite and crude girl. Doesn't she have any manners?"

Sougo stood up and went to take a closer look at her. It was his first time seeing her so still and peaceful and, being curious, he wanted to inspect her closer.

"Your Highness?" the professor called, confused.

Sougo ignored him completely and stopped in front of the sleeping female. She looked so serene like that, her eyes closed and mouth slightly open. Sure, she was drooling, but Sougo wasn't the least bit surprised by that. Her chest was rising and falling at a steady pace as she sat perfectly still with her hands on her lap, handcuffs still locking her wrists together. He reached out his hand and carefully brushed some of her bright orange bangs aside and stared at her forehead. Specifically at her left brow.

Sougo had a distant look in his eyes as he lightly brushed his fingers against her pale skin. _'This is where I'll kiss her once we get married. The kiss of absolute loyalty, honesty and...love.' _He let her bangs fall back and pulled his hand away, his face blank but eyes thoughtful. _'Can I learn to love her? More importantly, can __**she **__learn to love me?'_

He was jerked out of his thoughts by a hand grabbing his shoulder. He turned to see his professor looking at him with a shocked face. "What is it?" Sougo asked blankly.

The older male looked like he wanted to scream. Instead, he spoke in heated whispers. "What are you doing, Your Highness? If your honorable fiancée were to hear about you getting close to a maid, of all things, she would leave you for good, I'm afraid!"

Sougo tilted his head to the side innocently. "But this is my fiancée."

Sougo truly enjoyed watching the horror dawn on the older man's face. "Wha-?" The professor paled and turned to look at the sleeping girl. "This...this is...oh my god, please forgive my earlier rudeness, Your Highness! I had no idea!"

Sougo smirked fleetingly before putting on his blank face. "Oh, what should I do? You've insulted the royal family, that is a crime punishable by death, you know?" he said, not bothering to keep his volume down.

"I'm begging for forgiveness! I will compensate however I can!"

"Then you wouldn't mind not charging for the lectures for a month?" Sougo smirked again, his eyes glinting evilly.

The professor gulped but bowed low in gratitude. He really needed the job as a royal lecturer, and his head, so he had no choice but to accept.

Sougo looked pleased. "Now then, leave before my next lesson starts. I still have to read some notes."

"Yes, of course. I will see you tomorrow, Your Highness."

When the library doors closed behind the professor, Sougo's face turned blank again. He glanced at Kagura and sat down on the armchair next to hers, settling down so that he could study her profile comfortably. He propped his arm up against the back of the chair and leaned his head against his hand. He stared at the still sleeping girl in thought.

_'Sure, you're calm when you sleep. Once awake, you turn into a China monster,' _Sougo thought dryly. Still, she was intriguing.

She was different from the other women he had met. She wasn't gentle like his sister or clingy and annoying like the women of the court. She was violent and straight-forward with her opinions but could still be civil at times. Then he would say something and she would blow up again. She clearly showed how she felt, be it good or bad, and didn't hold back if she wanted to do or say something. Heck, she had even punched him! That's not something that just about anyone would do. But she was different, very different, and that made him feel...was relieved the right word?

A knocking sound pulled him out of his thoughts. "Your Highness Sougo? It is time for the lesson, may I come in?"

Sougo glanced at Kagura. She seemed to frown a little and pulled her arms against herself, as if she was cold. Not thinking much about it, Sougo took off his jacket and placed it over her. She visibly relaxed and sighed a little, her lips quirking up ever so slightly, as if she was smiling in her sleep. Sougo allowed his own expression to soften minutely before turning away and calling the next professor in.

* * *

><p>Kagura was cruely awoken by the chair disappearing from underneath her. She fell on the floor in the most ungraceful manner and let out a little scream.<p>

"Wakey wakey, China. We're moving on."

Kagura glared at the man in front of her. Said man just stared back at her with his red eyes, the swelling on the left one gone down cosiderably. "That's no way to treat a lady," Kagura hissed at him.

Sougo blinked and looked around. "But I don't see any ladies around here."

Kagura growled before raising her lower body and kicking him in the stomach, ignoring the fact that she was in a dress and she most likely flashed her underwear quite brilliantly while doing that. After hearing a pained grunt signaling she had hit her target, Kagura jumped up. "So, where are we going next?" she asked sweetly, crossing her arms. _'Wait, I can cross my arms? What happened to the handcuffs?'_

She flinched at the dirty look Sougo sent her before he started walking away.

"Hey! H-hey, wait a second!" Kagura yelled and ran after him.

A dark figure in the shadows chuckled.

* * *

><p>Kagura was yet again told to sit still and be quiet. She wasn't a happy camper as she grudgingly did as told, especially when Sougo just disappeared without another word. She was left all alone in a huge room with wooden floors and walls and basically nothing in it.<p>

"What a jerk, treating me like that," Kagura sulked. Deep down she knew that it was at least partly her fault, but she couldn't help thinking that he was just a cruel, nasty jerk.

"Eh?" a foreign male voice from behind made her jump in surprise. "Who are you? Where's Okita-kun?"

* * *

><p>Sougo intentionally took as long as possible to change his clothes. He was still pissed off, and knew that he would only end up in another nasty fight with Kagura if he arrived earlier than his master.<p>

_'That damn China drives me crazy!'_ Sougo punched the wall with all his might to get rid of some of his anger. Sure, he knew his actions weren't the nicest either, but that's the way he was. He couldn't just change his personality overnight. Not that he wanted to.

"I'll just take it out on danna," he muttered to himself before grabbing his wooden sword and starting on his way back.

The laughter that reached his ears in the hallway just about stopped his heart. _'No. Way. In. Hell,' _he thought as he quickened his step. Soon enough he reached the training room, only to come face to face with a sight that, for some unexplainable reason, made his anger flare up ever so slightly.

"And he turns into a complete puppy when he's with Mitsuba-san. He's all adorable and obedient," Sougo's silverhaired swordmaster explained to the giggling girl next to him.

Kagura laughed loudly. "Really? That's hard to believe!"

"It's all true, girlie. His sister complex is pretty serious."

"What are you doing?"

The two jumped and turned their heads to face him. He had succesfully sneaked up on them.

The permhead started sweating bullets upon seeing the dark aura oozing out of the prince. "O-Okita-kun! You're late, so I exchanged a few words with this lady here and -"

"I see. Well, now I'm here, so how about we get started?" Sougo asked and swiped at the man with his wooden sword. He missed by an inch as the man jumped back.

"Oi! What are you doing? That's sneaky!" the man, also known as Sakata Gintoki, yelled.

"You do much worse things, danna. Like almost cutting my training sword in half before having a match," Sougo shot back with his monotone voice before charging in for another attack. "And it's not like you'll die even if I did happen to hit you."

Kagura blinked, completely confused by the turn of events. "What are you doing?"

"He's killing me!" / "Training."

"Oh." Kagura thought that Gin's answer was closer to the truth. The slightly murderous aura around the sadistic prince was proof enough.

_'Wonder what he got so worked up about...'_

* * *

><p>"Right, that's it for today!" Gin panted out and slipped his wooden sword under his belt. "See you tomorrow, Okita-kun!" He waved before speedwalking away, obviously wanting to avoid round two.<p>

Kagura stood up when Sougo didn't move from his spot. "Are we going again?" she asked.

Sougo turned to look at her and Kagura's stomach flipped. He was covered in sweat, little droplets clinging to his bangs. His lips were parted as he practically gulped in air after the workout. He swallowed before answering tiredly: "I have to get changed first, stupid. You think I could walk around looking like this?"

_'Yes.' _Shaking her head harshly, Kagura tried to form an answer. Tried being the keyword. "Um, no, I guess not." Smooth. Kagura quickly averted her eyes from where his practice clothes had slipped off slightly.

Sougo gave her an odd look before disappearing into the changing rooms again. Kagura slumped back down and hit herself. _'What was that? What the heck was I thinking about just now?' _she screamed in her mind in slight panic, her heart beating a hundred miles per hour. _'He did not look extremely hot just now! No! I didn't think he was hot! It was the sweat, yes, a male after a fight is naturally attractive to Yato girls, so it wasn't like I personally thought that he looked -'_

"What are you doing?"

Kagura shot up. "N-n-n-none o-o-of y-y-your b-bu-business!" she stuttered, biting her tongue painfully in the process.

Sougo lifted an eyebrow nonchalantly. Fresh from the shower, Kagura victoriously thought that he didn't look nearly as good as earlier, so she could blame it on her genetics after all.

"Just follow me," he finally said and they left the room.

* * *

><p>Kagura looked around, further confused. "This is...?"<p>

Sougo stopped under a huge tree and looked up at the branches above, their movement in the wind casting dancing shadows on him. "This is a place where I usually nap."

Kagura looked around her. It was a very secluded area in the vast gardens of the castle, hidden from view by tall bushes and a tree fence. Even from the castle's windows one would have to know what to look for to see there. It was calm, quiet, shaded by the nature. Peaceful.

Sougo slid down and leaned against the tree. "It's a perfect place for sleeping. No one comes here, so I can find perfect solitude," he said and pulled out his bizarre sleeping mask. "That being said, lend me your lap."

A moment of awkward silence. "What?"

"I said lend me -"

"I heard what you said!"

Sougo gave her a blank look, blatantly ignoring her growing blush. "Then, what's the hold up?"

"I-it's embarrasing!" Kagura snapped.

"What is? I could tell you to do much worse stuff. You still have to do it, maid," Sougo said, grabbed her wrist and yanked.

As expected, Kagura fell on her hands and knees. Sougo pushed her upright and plopped his head down on her lap before she could gather herself.

Kagura was stunned for a few seconds. She just watched as he pulled the sleeping mask over his eyes and crossed his hands over his stomach. Then she finally unfroze.

"What the -? Don't just fall asleep like that! Hey!"

But all she got as an answer was annoyingly steady breathing. Giving up with a frustrated sigh, Kagura leaned against the tree. The fresh air felt so good and the place had a very relaxing effect. Before she knew it, Kagura was on her way to dreamland again. Her final thought before falling asleep was: _'He didn't even make me do anything except follow him around...'_

* * *

><p><strong>Done! The next chapter might take some time again (I'm so sorryyyyyyyy~), since it's going to be a new addition to the original script. More Kamui, you know. Don't expect a long chapter, though!<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review before leaving! ^.^**

**~poakkis**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, this one is incredibly short, quite serious and explains some parts of Kagura and Kamui's difficult sibling relationship. I'm not exactly happy about how this turned out, but it's good enough to publish. I just hope I won't get shot :eyes some reviewers fearfully:**

**A big thank you to my reviewers: peep (uhh, I seriously don't know who is gonna pop up...I think I've already introduced the majority of really important characters, and it all revolves around Sougo and Kagura. Hey, if you do end up drawing fanart inspired by me, could you pleeease send it to me? I'd love to see it! I'll try my best from now on, too!), Ayjah, Amanto (thank you, I'm glad I could lighten up your day! Now, please do the same to me and put the gun down, please ^.^"), Koatan, Alice P e a c h e s, FaiaDemon, haruhi-chan (my dear, please stop apologizing for your English, it's not that bad ^.^ I'll see what I can do about more Gin, I'm glad you liked the last chapter, too) and Masami Kyoko (ahaha, well, here's another chapter, no Sougo, though...he'll return next chapter, I swear!)**

**Now then, please enjoy the shortness of it all!**

* * *

><p><strong>They call it sibling love, but honestly it's just the feeling of wanting to give a bear hug and rip the other's head off at the same time<strong>

One misty and gray morning Kagura woke up with a very bad feeling, and this time it had nothing to do with the man still (probably, she couldn't tell that well with the mask on his face) asleep on the other side of the enormous bed. No, this was very similar to the way she felt every time a family member came back from a mission gone bad.

Kagura shook her head, angry at herself. _'Stupid, it's not like feeling like this means something. It's probably an approaching flu or something...'_

Her hopes were trashed when she was called to see her brother in one of the sitting rooms by a solemn servant.

* * *

><p>Kagura warily stepped into the room, looking around until she spotted her brother on an armchair, sipping tea calmly. "Brother?" she called out uncertainly as she closed the door with a soft click.<p>

Kamui looked up at her and smiled his usual close-eyed smile. "Good morning, little sister. Slept well?"

Kagura frowned and took a seat on the opposite side of the table, facing him. "What's happened at the manor?" she asked seriously, wanting to skip all idle chit-chat her brother was so prone to.

Kamui tilted his head. "A lot," he answered vaguely.

Kagura growled. "Kamui, I'm not in the mood for your mindgames. Who was it this time? Abuto? Lin? Jun?"

Kamui's grin widened for a second. "Your intuition's as sharp as ever, I see," he commented before taking another sip of tea. "It was dad."

Kagura's eyes widened in shock. "P-papi? But...but he's the strongest! What happened?" she practically screamed, panic rising.

Kamui raised his hands and smiled. "Whoa, calm down, sis. He's not dead or anything, just lost his left arm to a random punk lucky enough to manage a surprise attack on him. He was outnumbered quite badly." Another sip of tea taken calmly. "They're operating on him as we speak, and his new arm will be ready by next month."

Kagura let out the breath she'd been holding and slumped back in her chair in relief. "Thank goodness," she muttered under her breath and covered her eyes with her arm. "it was just a limb..."

* * *

><p>Kamui studied her with his blue eyes thoughtfully for a minute. He had always been aware of the quite drastic difference between himself and his younger sibling, her nature being far too kind for a Yato whereas he was a perfect example of his family. Even at the very moment he felt the urge to slaughter her for looking like that, it was unsightly of her. A Yato should never show such weakness, no matter what.<p>

But then again, she had never been one to follow their rules.

He had never understood her. When their mother had died from illness, she had been practically broken. Not being able to stand her like that, he had sent her to an advanced training location. If not for their father finding out and rescuing her, she would've died for sure. Killing and growing stronger had always made him feel better, but obviously it wasn't the same with her.

She had accused him of trying to get her killed and enjoying the show. He had thought about making her stronger so she could carry the burden of losing someone obviously dear to her. Neither understood the other.

So it was no surprise when Kagura suddenly lashed out at him again.

"What are you laughing at, Kamui?" she hissed, still slumped on her seat. "Enjoying my anxiety again?"

Kamui smiled serenely at her, closing his eyes again. "I'm just wondering how you could be so worried over something like that. It's not the first and in no way the last time this kind of thing happens," he replied smoothly.

Kagura straightened in her chair and stared at him. "It doesn't matter how many times _this kind of thing _happens, I'll still get worried and sad when my family gets injured or killed! It's normal to feel that way!"

"Hmm," Kamui hummed thoughtfully, "I guess that's just the way you are. By the way, how's it going here? Being lovey-dovey with your man, I hope?" he asked playfully.

Kagura blushed a brilliant shade of red. "Are you insane? No, wait, I know you are, but still! With that guy? No way, we're always fighting and insulting each other, not one friendly word has been exchanged since we met!"

Kamui grinned wider. "Well, they say that a horse kicks out of love, right?"

* * *

><p>The servants met a scene from a nightmare when they finally dared to approach the sitting room. Crying tears of desperation, they concluded that it would take at least a week to make it presentable again.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, it really was that short. Kamui is really a pain in the arse to write, I feel like I'm going the wrong way with him all the time! Hope the chapter didn't disappoint you too much...<strong>

**And yes, in this alternate universe Kamui never severed Umibouzu's arm. **

**So, uhh, review? Please? I'll do my best to update faster next time?**

~**poakkis**


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally it's done! Some girl-talk in this one, and of course some OK fluff ^.~**

**My beloved reviewers: FaiaDemon, peep (aww, thank you! Let's both try our best ^.^), Alice P e a c h e s, Ayjah, yiseunggi, Koatan, Shinichi's Lover, Lingering Embrace and Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin! I'm so glad to see some new names this time, too, along with the faithful ones ^.^**

**Nothing much to say about this, just another rewrite. The next story arc will be a hassle, though...I just thought of a way to add more fluff into one vital point of the story, but that means I have to make up a new chapter and drastically change another! Being on my senior year with finals approaching doesn't help either, so I beg you readers to be patient with me. I will get it all done, even if I have to lose some sleep to do it!**

**Completely irrelevant: I just finished reading Ouran High School Host Club the manga, and I loved it. Those who have not yet read/watched it and happen to like high school love comedies with a small touch of drama, I highly recommend ^.^  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Sometimes blurting out things ends up being better than thinking too much about your words<strong>

Weeks passed in the castle and nothing seemed to change. Sougo and Kagura were still fighting over everything and anything and Mitsuba looked on with her irritated husband as every day brought a new fight. The castle personnel still hadn't gotten used to destroyed furniture and broken pieces of art, but they eventually would. The one time Kamui came to visit was especially hectic. After going at it for at least two hours the sibling-fight eventually ended when Kamui escaped through the window (not bothering to open it), laughing all the way.

But even though nothing seemingly changed, something did. And that something happened between the prince and his fiancée.

* * *

><p>"Kagura-chan?" Mitsuba called from the doorway. "Can I talk to you for a second?"<p>

Kagura nodded and set her umbrella, which she had been checking for damage, aside. Mitsuba smiled gratefully and sat on the armchair next to Kagura's.

"What did you want to talk about, Mitsuba-san?" Kagura asked curiously. Mitsuba didn't look like she came for the lighthearted chat they sometimes had.

"I know it's a little late to ask this now," Mitsuba started with a slight frown, "but after your brother visited, I've been thinking about something." She turned her gaze away from Kagura guiltily. "Do you hate being told what to do?"

Kagura nodded briskly. "Yeah, doesn't everyone?"

Mitsuba smiled sadly. "Then, do you hate your brother and I for arranging this engagement without asking for your opinion on the matter?"

Kagura's eyes widened. "No! I mean, sure, it was a real shock and it made me angry and all, but I could never hate you! I really like you, Mitsuba-san! I've never really had any real feminine influence in my life, so I'm really happy I got to meet you!" Kagura blabbered hastily. "And think nothing about Kamui and I, we've never been on good terms with each other..."

Mitsuba nodded and smiled a little more brightly. "Then, what about him?"

"Huh?"

"You know, Sou-chan. I know you're always telling me how infuriating he is, what with tricking you and saying offensive stuff all the time, but what do you really think about him? As in really him, not who he appears to be."

Kagura looked at her with an unreadable expression and for a minute it was completely silent. Mitsuba smiled uncomfortably. "I wasn't making any sense, was I?" she asked with a strained voice.

Kagura shook her head and turned to gaze outside through the window on her other side, turning away from Mitsuba. "I think I know what you mean, but...I don't know, I can't tell what's on his mind at all," she admitted softly, almost sadly.

"Kagura-ch-"

"I mean," Kagura cut her off, suddenly sounding annoyed. "He can be a royal pain in the ass and he annoys the hell out of me with his actions and I hate the way he looks so passive all the time, but..." Here she sighed tiredly. "He has his moments, and I can't really hate him...he's so frustrating," she muttered, and Mitsuba could see her ears were bright red. "You can never tell him I said that, though! Got it?"

Mitsuba giggled and patted her head. "I promise. It's a secret between sisters, right?"

Kagura turned to her with a cute shade of pink on her cheeks and nodded with a small smile. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she started gathering her tools and umbrella. "It's getting late, I should go to bed."

Mitsuba's eyes flickered mischeviously. "Oh, I just remembered!" she said with an all too sweet smile. "What is this I hear about you two taking secret naps under the Tree?"

Kagura blinked confusedly. "The Tree...?" As it all clicked in her head, she blushed again. "I-it's all his fault! He just randomly comes to find me and drags me there to be his pillow!" She left out the part of not really resisting him anymore. She would never admit that she had come to like those afternoon naps.

Mitsuba looked surprised for a second before giggling. "Oh, that Sou-chan. I never would've guessed he'd do something like this."

Kagura was confused. "What do you mean? Is there something I should know about?"

"Oh, I couldn't tell you," Mitsuba laughed brightly. "You'll find out eventually. I also heard that you sometimes accompany him to his lessons in the library, is this true?"

Kagura nodded. "Yeah, Papi said I sould try to learn some stuff about politics and whatnot, so I decided to tag along on some lessons. I always fall asleep in the middle, though..." she admitted quietly.

"Oh, so you don't know what happens there, do you?" Mitsuba asked sweetly.

Kagura became very worried and anxious right about then. "W-what happens?" she asked, her voice quivering, half of her wanting and the other not wanting to know the answer.

Mitsuba just smiled. "Oh, that's right!" she suddenly exclaimed and stood up. "Come with me for a second, Kagura-chan."

Kagura took her bag, which contained her tools, and strapped her umbrella to her hip before following Mitsuba out of the room. Mitsuba lead her through several hallways and down some stairs until a delicious scent reached their noses.

Mitsuba led her into the kitchens, and after greeting the staff she asked for a tea tray. When the tray with a full teapot, two cups and some snacks arrived, Mitsuba held it out for Kagura to take. "Could you take this to the study on the second floor west wing, Kagura-chan? After you're done, you're free to go to sleep, no more surprises," she promised.

Kagura blinked at the odd request but accepted the task nonetheless. Turning to go, she called over her shoulder: "Goodnight Mitsuba-san, everyone."

Mitsuba smiled evilly as the kitchen staff bid the future queen goodnight. "Goodnight, Kagura-chan. Sleep well."

* * *

><p>'<em>What's with this odd request?'<em> Kagura thought as she neared the study. _'Mitsuba-san...she couldn't be plotting something, could she?'_

Kagura knocked on the door, but received no answer. She opened the door a little and almost dropped the tray as she jumped back into the hallway and hid behind the door. _'What is HE doing there?'_

Still hearing nothing, Kagura gathered her courage and peeked into the room. Her eyes hadn't betrayed her, it really was Sougo slumped over a huge, wooden desk filled with papers, his arms folded underneath his head to act as a pillow. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Kagura carefully stepped inside and closed the door with a soft click. She tiptoed over to the sleeping man and set the tray on the wooden surface. She then pulled out a chair and sat down to look at him.

He was frowning, almost to the point of scowling. He was also gritting his teeth rather forcefully, slightly grinding them against each other from time to time. It was strange, watching the usually nonchalant and irritantingly sarcastic man make such an expression, even in his sleep. It stirred some strange feeling inside Kagura, and since Kagura didn't know any better, she deduced that seeing the super sadistic bastard aka her fiancé having human traits annoyed her. She wouldn't admit to being worried about him, anyway...

_'I wonder if he makes that face every night...' _Kagura thought as she took a cookie from the tray. She nearly dropped the treat at her sudden realization.

She did indeed sleep next to a man every night, had been doing so for three months now, and being legally engaged, he had every right to do anything to her. Excluding kissing her face, of course, since that was strictly forbidden before legal marriage (in their country, the face was believed to be the most sacred part of a human). Kagura had never really thought about it before, but now that she did, she felt like she would never dare to climb into that bed again.

_'But then again, he would never even think about doing anything like that with me,' _she thought, and felt oddly disappointed and sad. Not wanting to read too much into it, she shook her head and took some tea.

Kagura glanced at the still sleeping Sougo. "Hey, wake up, your tea's getting cold."

Kagura sipped her tea and called a bit louder: "Hey, sadist!"

Kagura resisted the temptation to pour the tea over his head when he didn't react at all. She didn't want to bother the staff with tea on the floor and furniture at that hour. Finished with her cup of tea, Kagura hadn't come up with any interesting ways to wake him up, so she simply pulled the chair from underneath him.

Sougo let out a surprised yelp as he fell on the floor in an ungraceful heap. He blinked owlishly a couple of times before all too familiar, evil laughter brought his thoughts to order. He turned to glare at his _ever so lovable _fiancée, his vision still blurred by sleep. "What are you doing here?" he groaned and rubbed the back of his head that he had hit when he fell.

Kagura's laughter stopped, but she was still grinning. "Is that a way to thank me for bringing you tea? And what were you doing anyway, sleeping like that?"

Sougo ignored her questions, making her grin drop. He grabbed his chair back and sat down to drink his tea and nibble on some cookies. Kagura frowned at him disapprovingly before turning her gaze to the papers now scattered all over his desk. She curiously picked up one and inspected it. "What's this?" she asked, looking at Sougo for an answer.

"Work," Sougo answered briefly in between sips of tea.

"You've been doing this," Kagura started and waved the paper for emphasis, "all day?"

Sougo glanced at her. "Yeah, pretty much. What about it?"

Kagura looked dumbfounded. "That's so boring! How can you just sit still and read papers all day?" she exclaimed.

Sougo snatched the paper from her hand and set it back on the table. "Because it's my duty as the future king. If I can't handle the work, there's no way I could begin my reign." He said it as if he was talking about the weather, not about the future of him and his country.

Kagura watched him munch on the cookies and drink tea for a full minute before lowering her gaze to the floor and softly whispering: "That's kind of...amazing."

"You say something?"

Kagura jumped as she snapped her gaze back to him nervously. "No, nothing!"

Sougo raised his eyebrow. He clearly didn't believe her, but still let it slide. "Fine. Thanks for the tea, China. Now, get going so I can finish my work in peace."

Kagura nodded and headed for the door in silence. She opened it, but right before exiting she called out softly: "Goodnight, Sougo."

"Yeah, night, China," he called back absentmindedly as he scanned the papers. It wasn't until minutes after Kagura had actually left that her words finally registered in his mind. His eyes widened and he shot up from his chair, staring at the closed door.

"Did she just...?"

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><p>It was a miracle that the bedroom door didn't break as Kagura slammed it close behind her. She had practically raced all the way there and was now gasping for breath and trying to calm herself as she leaned against the door.<p>

_'WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST DO?' _she screamed in panic in her mind. She pulled at her hair and kept mentally berating herself. _'WHY did I call him by his name? Now it's going to be so awkward I could die! Ahhh, I don't want to wake up tomorrow! No doubt he now thinks that I'm actually starting to like him, which is kinda tru- NO! It's not true! Gaaahhh, what's wrong with me?'_

Kagura collapsed onto the bed and pulled the covers over her head. She even buried her head between the pillows, muttering "stupid" to herself over and over again, like a mantra, until she eventually fell asleep.

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><p>It wasn't much later after Kagura fell asleep that the door opened again, this time hesitantly. "China? You awake?"<p>

Sougo didn't hear anything nor could he see any movement in the dark room, so he slowly stepped inside and walked to Kagura's side of the bed. He carefully lifted the pillow she had somehow managed to keep upon her head while tossing around in her sleep. She was sound asleep on her side, yet again drooling on the expensive sheets, clutching another pillow tightly in her arms. He looked at her and let his face soften before reaching down to gently brush her hair back into place. He placed the pillow on the other side of her head and started heading back to his study.

She didn't need to know how happy he was that she had called him by his name for the first time.

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><p><strong>Soooo...how was it? I hope you liked it, please let me know ^.^<strong>

**"The Tree" is something that will be explained much later in the story, probably in the last chapter or so. So no matter how much you beg or speculate, I'm not telling xD**

**See you next time!**

**~poakkis**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh. My. Friggin'. Cheesecake. I have an awesome 50 on the review-count! I'm so happy I could cry, which I will T.T**

**As a token of my thanks, I wrote a completely fluffy, mushy omake for you! This isn't really connected to any specific point of the story, it just happens "some morning after chapter 4" ^.^**

**The usual special thanks for reviewers: Ayjah, Koatan, SaharaOchimachi, Alice P e a c h e s, Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, ayaka chi, peep (no need to rush, I'm not pressuring you into making the fanart! Thanks, I shall try my best (which isn't much...) with the exams!), K (thank you~), ally092299, Shinichi's Lover and yiseunggi! You guys are amazing, and this chapter's to you ^.^**

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><p><strong>Surprises in the morning are not good for the heart<strong>

She was on a busy street, the passing people blurring into an unrecognisable mass. The road felt cold under her bare feet and the wind blew her hair into her face. She tried to raise her hand to pull the loose strands back behind her ear but was restrained by something. Looking down, she saw a huge snake wrapped around her torso. It hissed at her. She struggled against it only to have it tighten its hold around her. Then its head suddenly shot up, its teeth bared to bite her face.

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><p>Kagura woke up with a start, gasping in fright. It wasn't even dawn yet. <em>'A nightmare, it was only a nightmare,' <em>she thought, calming her breathing. She attempted to wipe her sweaty forehead only to find herself still restrained. Gulping nervously, she looked down, praying with all her might that it wouldn't be a snake. Her heart skipped a beat or two before starting to hammer wildly in her chest upon seeing an arm.

Kagura kind of wished that it had been a snake, after all...

At some point during the night Sougo had rolled over to her side (or had she rolled over to his side?) of the bed and was now practically glued to her back with an arm tightly wrapped around her torso. His face was buried into her already quite long hair (it hadn't seen scissors for some time), his breathing slightly fluttering her orange strands and sending shivers down her spine. She could even feel the steady beating of his heart and the movement of his chest against her back as he breathed.

_'TOO CLOSE!'_

Now, Kagura wasn't the type to be sensitive about personal space, she was used to sitting on people and wrestling with her clansmen. This time though, for some reason, she grew overly self-conscious and fidgety. She tried to wriggle out of Sougo's grasp, desperately fighting against the nice, warm feeling growing inside of her. He responded by squeezing her even closer, mumbling something incoherent (_'Shit! Pleeeease, don't wake up! I'm begging you, don't wake up!') _before going still and quiet again.

Kagura sighed in relief. _'Okay, Kagura, just breathe. You're obviously not getting out of this without waking him up, so lay ever so still and go back to sleep. Fall into sweet slumber and before you know it, he'll be gone. Just ignore him and his muscles and warmth and you'll be just fine. Don't think about how this feels actually really nice.'_

Obviously her little pep talk wasn't much help in her situation. Kagura couldn't help feeling oddly comfortable in his quite intimate hold despite the awkwardness of it all. Sougo was really warm, even though Kagura could've sworn at times that he had ice running in his veins instead of blood, and his hold on her was pretty strong, even by her standards. _'Must be from sword fighting...' _Kagura thought and immediately the memory of his worn out, sweaty form after a lesson with Gin popped up in her mind. Kagura blushed heavily and mentally slapped herself, since her arms were currently blocked.

As hard as she tried to fight against it, Kagura felt increasingly more secure in the embrace of her fiancé. Her eyes started to droop again, sleep slowly taking over her. Throwing her pride away in her semi-conscious state, Kagura adjusted herself into a more comfortable position and deeply inhaled the scent surrounding her. _'He smells like metal...'_

When Kagura woke up in the morning, Sougo was nowhere to be seen. She soundly slapped herself for feeling disappointed.

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><p>Sougo slowly realised that he was starting to wake up when he became aware of the sunlight beaming into the room and the sounds of people coming from somewhere far away. He felt unusually comfortable, though, and was very reluctant to wake up. A lingering scent of cinnamon registered in his half-asleep brain, as well as something soft and warm pressed against him. Not thinking much about it, he snuggled closer to the warmth, inhaled the homey scent and let out a content sigh.<p>

It was only when the nicely smelling, soft, warm thing in his arms sighed back that Sougo's eyes snapped open and he was wide awake. And boy, was he given the surprise of a lifetime.

Of course, he had seen Kagura sleeping before, on many occasions actually, but to wake up with his own face in the nape of her neck, his own arm wrapped around her and his own sleeve held in a sleepy grip in her hand? That was a first.

No matter how hard he tried, Sougo couldn't deny that their position was extremely comfortable. He didn't really want to pull away, au contrair, her relaxed form and inviting warmth made him want to fall back asleep. The only things holding him back were 1) his own stubborness and 2) the fact that Kagura would kill him if she woke up before he detached himself.

Loosening his hold and propping himself up on his other elbow, Sougo gazed down at Kagura, taking his time to really look at her. He had admitted, in some dark corner of his mind, that Kagura was actually quite beautiful, especially her eyes. Somewhere along the way he had even gotten the habit of watching her when she was unaware of his gaze, just to see how her expressions would range from furious to giddy, how the setting sun made her hair look redder, how she would sometimes blush as red as her favourite chinese dresses...

He needed to see a doctor. There was definitely something very wrong with his head if he, His Sadistic Majesty Okita Sougo, could have such mushy thoughts.

Carefully prying her fingers off his sleeve, Sougo started pulling away. He stopped when Kagura whined in her sleep and flexed her fingers, as if searching for his shirt. Sougo smirked, amused yet again by her actions, and reached over to gently (dear Lord, he was definitely losing it) brush his fingers through her hair until she calmed down. Sougo looked at her a second longer before he pulled away and left as quietly as a cat.

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><p><strong>So, hope you liked the little extra. Next time we'll get back to the main storyline. The next chapter will take at least a month to come out, since my finals start next week and take a few weeks and there's no way I could find the time to write another chapter. Please understand and keep supporting me!<strong>

**~poakkis**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, sorry for the wait! The chap's up earlier coz I realised that I had gotten my exam dates wrong. They're over for now! Next time in spring! Now I have a whole week with nothing to do so I might as well try to continue with this story x)**

**A massive thank you for so many reviews: Ayjah, ayaka chi, Koatan, SaharaOchimachi, peep (oh, a fellow victim of school! Let's both try our best to survive! Thank you so much for your kind words!), SaRaLilIan (thank you for telling me honestly what you think! I'll try to put in more effort with romance ^.^), Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, Amanto (oh, don't feel guilty for not reviewing once, you silly thing! And even if you threaten me with the gun (which, btw, you could put down for now, please) I'm not sharing the secret of the Tree for now!), Alice P e a c h e s, Shinichi's Lover, mehmehjiaooxp! Love you guys 3**

**Now, we're finally back to the main storyline, and the real drama will begin! This is merely a prelude for things to come, so don't give up on me yet!**

**Enjoy, my lovely readers~**

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><p><strong>An approaching storm is rarely good news<strong>

A few more days passed and not once had Kagura called Sougo by his name after that night. Actually, she hadn't really talked to him that much since then. Most of the time she avoided him like the plague, even going as far as to run away from him upon eye-contact, and since Sougo was currently very busy with work he seldom took the trouble to chase her down. Even then they would always end up in a fight and Kagura would flee. The palace personnel was on one hand happy that nothing was broken for once and on the other hand worried for the couple.

The one who felt the worst was ultimately Mitsuba, though, since it appeared as though her plan to get the two closer had seriously backfired. At the moment she was enjoying the peace and quiet of her husband's company in one of their comfortable sitting rooms.

"Toushirou-san, have I made a fatal mistake?" Mitsuba asked as she leaned on him on the sofa, reading a book with him.

Hijikata flipped the page. "I wouldn't know. Maybe it was too soon to do anything?" he guessed. "Both of them seem to be the type to like their own pace, so your little meddling might have disturbed the natural flow of events."

"Should I talk to them?" she wondered worriedly.

"It's better if you don't. You'd probably make things worse."

"Toushirou-san!"

"Let her come to you when she's ready, same for Sougo. I know you're getting impatient, but this is their relationship, not yours. As much as you want little princes and princesses running around the castle, try to keep your meddling to a minimum, okay?"

Mitsuba sighed. "You're right, as always. Still, you could've said it more nicely..."

Before Hijikata got the chance to respond, Kagura knocked on the doorframe and stepped inside. "Umm, Mitsuba-san? Could I have a moment?" she asked, nervously glancing at the tall male. Mitsuba got the hint and nudged her husband.

"Toushirou-san, would you mind leaving us alone for a while?"

Hijikata nodded, kissed his wife's temple and left swiftly. Kagura glanced at his retreating back before sitting on the floor in front of the sofa Mitsuba was sitting on.

"What is it you wanted to talk about, Kagura-chan?" Mitsuba asked, hoping with all her might that it would be about her little brother.

"I-it's...I know I'm being really childish and this is stupid of me and there's nothing to be scared of but-"

"Kagura-chan, you're rambling," Mitsuba pointed out patiently.

Kagura blushed and looked down at her hands that had been playing with the high slit on the side of her dress for a while already. "S-sorry, I'm just, I don't know how to say it so it doesn't sound stupid..."

"It doesn't matter if it sounds stupid, I promise I won't laugh," Mitsuba said and smiled gently.

Kagura nodded and kept her gaze on her hands. "I...I called him by his name for the first time," she mumbled, but Mitsuba heard her loud and clear.

_'Yessssss!' _"And?" Mitsuba gently encouraged her, keeping her cheer in.

"Well, I feel really weird and can't meet his eyes, and I feel like running away whenever I see him. He's up late doing paperwork so falling asleep hasn't been a problem, but...I don't know how I should be with him anymore, it feels really awkward, like I did something wrong..."

"Kagura-chan," Mitsuba started, "you did nothing wrong. You felt like being nice to him, right? Calling him by his name, I bet Sou-chan was happy you did."

"Really?" Kagura asked and looked up at her now, her eyes doubting and cheeks flushed.

Mitsuba reached to stroke Kagura's hair. "Really. He just doesn't know how to show it. I think you should keep calling him by his name, maybe he'll return the favour at some point."

Kagura nodded slightly, her eyes showing a new glint. Mitsuba could only hope that it was what she wanted it to be.

"Was there something else you needed to talk about?" Mitsuba asked, convinced that she hadn't meddled too much.

"Uhh, well, my birthday is coming up, so -"

"When?" Mitsuba excitedly interrupted.

"Well, two weeks from now, on the 17th..."

Mitsuba took Kagura's hands in her own, her eyes shining. "This is a great opportunity! I shall arrange a birthday ball for you here at the castle! We have to get you a new dress, a dance instructor, shoes, a hairdresser, send out invitations – oh, don't show such a worried expression, I'll handle everything, you don't need to do anything at all!"

Mitsuba went on babbling excitedly about the ball and Kagura just stared at her, completely lost. _'All I wanted was permission to go and celebrate my birthday with my family at the manor...'_

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><p>Kagura sat in the dojo again, chatting with Gin as they waited for Sougo to come back from the changing room. She entertained herself with destroying training dummies with her bare hands. "I need practice too," she had reasoned with Gin.<p>

"Hey, Gin-chan?" Kagura suddenly asked and flopped down on the floor.

"Hm?" Gin grunted, lying on his back lazily.

"Why on earth would Mitsuba want to arrange a ball for me? That doesn't really make any sense to me."

Gin opened one eye to look at her. "You do know what a ball is, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's round and you throw or kick it around."

Gin sighed tiredly. He felt like he was about to answer one of the big questions of life to a five-year-old. "A ball is also a formal dance party. You've never been to one?"

Kagura shook her head. "What's it like?" she asked curiously and crawled over to Gin.

"There's a bunch of important people dressed in their finest, most pompous-looking clothes chatting and dancing for hours. There's some snacks and drinks, too. All in all, it's absolutely boring. I can't believe you've never been to one, you're a lady from an ancient noble line, aren't you?"

"That's because I wasn't allowed to! Everyone would go on and on and on about preserving the Yato traditions and keeping me pure or something. But now that I'm engaged I guess it's okay for me to attend. Oh, I can't wait! Mitsuba-san promised to take care of everything, so I don't have to worry about a thing!"

Gin sat up. "Wait a second. If you've never been to a ball, have you even danced before this? You do know at least basic waltz, right?"

"No."

"You're awfully close to the royal fiancée, danna," Sougo dryly commented as he walked in.

Gin ignored the prince's accusation and walked over to him with his head bent down. He placed his hands on Sougo's shoulders solemnly.

"What is it, danna?"

"May your legs rest in peace..."

"Danna, I'm not the one teaching her to dance. I'm the S, not the M," Sougo answered with his usual passive tone.

Kagura shot up from her sitting position and glared at him. "WHY ARE YOU COMPARING MY DANCE LESSONS TO SM PLAY, YOU SICKO?"

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><p>Meanwhile, at the Yato estate, Umibouzu was preparing to set out on a mission again. He felt like he was getting out of shape after a month of bed rest and paperwork, and since his new arm felt good to go, he saw no reason to stay put.<p>

Just as Umibouzu was about to open the main door to step out, someone opened it from the outside. _'Who on earth could it be? No one's scheduled to come back yet and Kagura would've called before coming...'_

A young man with a mane of ravenblack hair and dark blue eyes grinned at him from the doorway. "Uncle Umibouzu! Long time no see!"

Umibouzu's eyes widened upon recognition. "Kyo? Is that really you?"

The youth laughed loudly. "I haven't changed that much, have I?"

"You were reported to have gone MIA four years ago! We all thought you had died somewhere! If you were alive and well you should've notified us!" Umibouzu scolded angrily before sighing deeply. "Welcome home, nephew."

"Did I make you guys worry? Sorry about that," Kyo sheepishly scratched the back of his head. Then his eyes lit up and he smiled excitedly. "By the way, how's Kagura? I'd love to see her, is she in? She probably grew up to be a real beauty."

Umibouzu turned his gaze away from his dark nephew. "I see, so you still have feelings for my daughter."

Kyo's smile widened. "Of course! I never forgot her!"

"Then...this might be a little shocking, but..."

Kyo's smile dropped instantly. "What? Did something happen to Kagura?"

"Yes, but -"

"Don't tell me she's dead!"

"Who do you think my daughter is? She wouldn't die that easily!" Umibouzu roared.

"Then what is going on with Kagura?" Kyo yelled back frustratedly.

Umibouzu took in a deep breath to calm himself. "She's engaged, Kyo, that's what's going on."

Kyo looked absolutely horrified. He grabbed Umibouzu by the collar and desperately shook him. "Please tell me you're lying, uncle! This must be a cruel joke! There's no way Kagura would -"

Umibouzu freed himself from Kyo's grip. "Kagura got engaged with the crown prince three months ago. I know there was an arrangement for you two, but you should be aware of the three year rule. You were pronounced dead last year, Kyo, so the deal was naturally called off. There's nothing you can do but forget her."

Kyo grit his teeth as Umibouzu walked past him. "Make yourself at home. There's food in the basement, take what you want. There are some people home, too, so you should go and greet them," Umibouzu said before closing the door behind himself.

Kyo growled and smashed his fist into the wall, creating a new hole in it. All those years he had dreamed of the little girl he had left behind, what she would look like all grown up, how she would be waiting for him to return and how she would finally become his, only to find out that she was already taken by someone else. But that would change, there was no way Kyo would let Kagura suffer in the hands of some puny prince. He would become her knight and save her.

And then, she will finally be his.

Someone whistled at the top of the grand stairway. "You've been home for less than ten minutes and you've already damaged a wall."

Kyo snapped his gaze up and came face to face with his oldest cousin's irritating grin.

Kamui waved from where he stood leaning on the railing. "Welcome back~," he sang.

"Kamui," Kyo seethed. "Why didn't you stop her? As a Yato, you should care about the purity of our noble blood!"

Kamui tilted his head, looking very amused. "Oh, I don't give a shit about something like that. And you should think twice before you do anything stupid," he warned and opened his eyes, showing a feral glint in the pools of azure. "I'm the one who chose him, after all."

Kyo looked shocked, but recovered quickly. He merely shot a dirty look at Kamui before stomping off.

Kamui looked at his cousin's figure before he disappeared from sight. His eyes gleamed with childish delight. "I can't wait to see you in action, Okita Sougo..."

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><p><strong>...I can already see my readers coming after my life if I don't update soon...<strong>

**LOVE AND PEACE!**

~**poakkis**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's...finally...done... ::dies of exhaustion and shame:: **

**This was a real nightmare to write. I just had a very basic idea in my head, and since I am a rather thorough person, I just kept on adding details and backstories and, before I knew it, the story was 8 pages long (written on Open Office). I reread and rewrote it at least 50 times, adding and taking out bits and pieces, fine-tuning the dialogue...I NEVER WANT TO DO A CHAPTER LIKE THIS AGAIN! T.T  
><strong>

**When I finally deemed this finished, I began wondering if I made this too long. Then I started to think if there was a point where I could cut this in half but...obviously I wasn't satisfied with any of my options, so this turned out to be my longest chapter ever =.=" (eyebags)  
><strong>

**WARNING! COMPLETELY OOC CHARACTERS! PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I COULDN'T HELP IT! **

**I really need to have more love in this story, but I couldn't find a natural way to bring it out so...it turned ooc...I'm sorry...**

**I love you, my reviewers! I can't believe how many reviews I had last time: _Daniiiii_ (thank you! Unfortunately I couldn't capture their characters well in this one...), _ayaka chi, Alice P e a c h e s, Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, Koatan, Ayjah, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, Arya Hiwatari, domo-chi_ (your comment made me feel like a drug dealer xD), _peep_ (yah, Kyo's obsessive. I hope you don't think I took too long...and sorry for sounding stupid, but what's OTL?),_ Neil_ (thank you for those lovely words! I know obsessive love rivals are cliché, that's exactly why I created Kyo. A fairytale that lacks clichés is a failed fairytale, or so I think ^.^), _Shinichi's Lover_, _SaharaOchimachi, yiseunggi, Rosefriendships_ (aww, thank you~) and _H_ (here is your update, you didn't have to wait long for it xD)! So many new names, too! Oh, you've made this worthless little writer so incredibly happy =^.^=**

**Now that we're talking about reviewers: am I the only author on ff who frequently receives (death) threats in their otherwise loving reviews? o.O**

**Now (if you even bothered to read my ramblings), please feel free to read and hopefully enjoy (even a tiny little bit) this longest (and most ooc) chapter I've ever written!**

**Disclaimer: haven't done this in a while...anyways, I do not own any of the characters used in this story, only the plotline.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Dance parties aren't all about dancing, you know!<strong>

"We are ready, milady!"

"You look so beautiful!"

"Sougo-sama is so lucky to have such a lovely lady by his side!"

Kagura dreaded opening her eyes once the beauticians proclaimed they were done with her hair and make-up. They had been fawning over her for a long time doing god knows what to her face and hair and Kagura wasn't sure whether she wanted to see herself or not. What if she was actually hideous and the ladies were just saying all that because Kagura had power as the prince's fiancée?

One of them placed her hands on Kagura's shoulders. "Aww, are you shy? Come on, open your eyes, milady, we guarantee the result will please you!"

Kagura nodded nervously and slowly forced her eyes open. The mirror in front of her showed a completely different person and Kagura couldn't help but gasp at her reflection.

The beauticians had curled her hair and arranged it into an airy bun at the back of her head with some long strands cascading down to her shoulders. Her bangs were all swept to the right with only one longer strand curling on the left side of her face. They had used silver and light shades of blue as the main colour-theme, saying that it would match her dress. Kagura's hair had tons of tiny, tiny stars of aforementioned colours bringing life to her hairdo, pale blue-silver eyeshadow coloured her eyelids and her lips shined with lipgloss. Kagura felt like they had added some years to her face with their effort to make her look grown-up.

Kagura was already worried about messing it all up.

"Well?" the beauticians eagerly asked.

Kagura smiled, still stunned to see herself look so mature. "Thank you. I really look like a princess now," she offered, and was relieved to see the three women behind her grin happily.

"Please let us assist you with your dress next, milady," one of them said while the other two went to take out Kagura's new dress.

The dress was stunning. It was a clear shade of light blue which, Kagura noted, was almost the exact shade of her eyes. It was full-length and the front was decorated with vine-like silver embroidery all the way from her chest to her left side and down to the right side of the hem, and among the embroidery were small silver jewels sewn in. The back was fairly open, but not overly so, and the dress had thin straps to hold it up. Her shoes were pure white two inch heels.

Kagura, now dressed, looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was stunning and complimented her natural shapes while being rather considerate of her small chest, the make-up made her look more mature...she didn't feel like herself anymore.

"Milady," a beauticial said to catch Kagura's attention. "There is an early present for you we were told to give before you go."

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "From Papi? Mitsuba-san?"

The beauticians shook their heads and two of them giggled excitedly. "It is from Sougo-sama, milady."

Kagura blushed, making the three squeal in delight. "W-what i-i-is it?" she asked, trying (and failing) to appear composed and rather uninterested.

The one holding the package passed it to her. "We do not know, milady. It is for you, after all."

Kagura started opening the small package with trembling fingers. "A box?" she wondered out loud before opening the wooden object. She gasped and almost dropped it in surprise.

"What? What is it?" The three were almost screaming due to their excitement.

"H-he," Kagura began, blushing harder than before, "gave me a necklace."

Kagura carefully picked the piece of jewelry up so she could look at it more closely. It was made of silver, fairly simple and sturdy-looking. Looking at it with a more critical eye, however, caused Kagura's blush to drop completely. _'It actually looks like a fancy collar...'_

"It's beautiful, milady!"

"Let us put it on!"

"Ah, oh, sure..." Kagura lamely replied, her excitement and embarrassment completely gone.

The silver felt cold against her bare skin. The neckalce hung neatly around her neck, resting just above her collarbones.

"It suits you wonderfully, milady!"

"Sougo-sama must truly care for you to find such suiting jewelry!"

Kagura forced a polite smile that ended up looking like a grimace. _'Not likely. Most likely he wanted to mock me by comparing me to a pet.' _Her face fell in disappointment. _'There's no way he'd do something nice to me, after all...wait, what am I acting disappointed for? I know he's a sadist and an insensitive jerk so what was I expecting?'_

"Oh, it is so late! You must hurry, milady!"

The three practically pushed Kagura out of the room and into the corridor. "Remember to take the stairs to the main hall!" they said before running away, leaving her alone.

* * *

><p><em>'Why do women need hours to get ready for every single little thing?' <em>Sougo thought, exaspirated, as he waited at the bottom of the grand staircase to the main hall. _'It's her birthday ball and she's running late, how very typical of women.'_

Sougo's sexist mental rant was cut off when he saw movement above from the corner of his eye. Turning to comment on her lateness, he ended up staring mutely at the woman staring back at him.

He never, even in his wildest dreams (which, considering who we are talking about here, are all rated R) could've imagined his fiery China monster of a fiancée looking so stunning. From the moment Mitsuba had asked his opinion on the dress, he knew it would have to be blue, and he was glad Mitsuba chose it. The colour wasn't as impressive as her eyes, but it was a close second, and for once he openly ran his eyes over her, taking his time to savour the picture: her pale skin, curvy hips, slender neck, captivating eyes...

_'Get a hold of yourself,' _Sougo mentally punched himself and started walking up towards Kagura. He was pleased to notice that she was wearing his present, especially since it had been such a pain to find her one.

"You're late," he accused as he drew ever closer to her.

Kagura huffed and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "Take your accusations to those three ladies then, they insisted on taking such a long time."

Sougo stopped on the step below her and held out his right arm. He rolled his eyes as Kagura simply stared at him. "I'm going to escort you in, stupid. Hurry up or we'll be really late."

Sougo secretly reveled in the fact that Kagura (yet again) blushed as she linked her arm with his, but decided to spare her for once and started leading her down the steps.

* * *

><p><em>'Curse you, stupid body, you traitor!' <em>Kagura cursed as she felt her face burning yet again. Blushing seemed to have become a normal occurence lately, more often than not when her _oh, so dear _fiancé was involved. She sometimes wondered about the reason...

Wanting to get her mind off this dangerous track, Kagura turned to look at the man walking beside her. "Hey, do I really have to make a speech?"

Sougo turned his face just enough to lock gazes with her. "Yeah, a short one. It's enough if you just thank those scum for coming and tell them to enjoy the party. Don't use that wording, though, I'll kill you if you do," he nonchalantly threatened her. Yet again.

Kagura huffed and discreetly kicked his shin. "I know how to use flowery language, thank you very much and go die, stupid Sadist," she said and snapped her gaze forward.

If she hadn't, she might've caught Sougo's fleeting, amused smirk.

* * *

><p>"- and am very happy to spend this night with you. Let us now begin to enjoy!" Kagura finished her 100% ooc speech, feeling very much like vomiting. <em>'I can't believe I could come up with such bullshit!' <em>she thought as she gratefully curtsied for the applauding people. The whole grand ballroom was filled with nobles and other royalty, the room was practically sparkling with gold and jewels and, just as Gin had told her, it looked utterly boring with all the formality. She couldn't see any members of her own family, either.

Kagura was assigned to sit with the royal siblings and Hijikata on a higher level, so she could see everything from where she was sitting. She saw the musicians preparing to start their long task of playing, the waiters walking around with trays of small snacks and drinks and, curiously enough, a large empty space in the middle of the room. Just as Kagura was about to turn left to ask Sougo about it, he stood up and turned to her. Bowing down, he offered his right hand and politely smiled at her. "Shall we open the dancefloor, my dearest?" he asked, adding the last part mockingly.

Kagura's eyes widened, but not at the way he had called her. _'We have to start? Alone? In front of everyone?' _

Cue panic attack.

Kagura slowly and uncertainly raised her hand to accept Sougo's and he calmly closed his fingers around hers, slightly pulling her as she shakily stood up. He led her down the marble steps to the empty space in the middle of curious nobles and stopped. They took the standard waltzing stance and Sougo signaled for the music to start. He was as annoyingly calm as ever and Kagura was close to hyperventilating.

"Relax," Sougo whispered as he began leading her through very basic steps. "You don't mean to waste the effort and sacrifices of your 43 instructors, do you?"

"44," Kagura muttered back, keeping her unblinking eyes fixed on one of his military uniform's clasps as she stomped on the desire to put up a fight with him. She wasn't used to the feeling of being under someone's control, so letting him lead was grating on her nerves. Too many dance instructors were sent to hospital because of this little problem.

Oddly enough, as much as it annoyed her, she also couldn't deny the fact that it was nice to be this close to him and feel his touch. Kagura mentally punched herself for thinking like some pathetic, lovesick teenager.

"I think you broke some sort of record with that number," Sougo taunted her with his political smile still on his lips. Kagura wanted to punch that annoying expression off his face. It didn't suit him at all.

"Same goes for you and the level of fakeness in your expression right now," Kagura shot back with a political smile of her own, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to meet his eyes. She hated smiling a fake smile like that, but understood the importance of appearences.

"Right back at you, China," Sougo shot back and effortlessly made her spin for a while before bringing her back into his hold. He smirked playfully. "I'll wipe that look off your face soon enough," he promised with a low tone.

"What do you me-eek!" Kagura let out a small shriek of surprise as Sougo grabbed her waist and raised her into the air. Kagura clung to his shoulders with both hands as he spun around before setting her back down, continuing their waltz again. Kagura pouted, feeling another blush take over her face, and raised her eyes to glare at her partner. "Don't do that! You freaked me out, stupid!"

Sougo's response took her by surprise: he laughed. Kagura had never seen such an expression on his face before, he looked like he was genuinely having fun. Even if it was on her expense, Kagura couldn't stop the happy grin that spread on her own lips.

Their eyes finally met, and Kagura could almost hear the hammering of her heart. As cliché as it was, it felt like their surroundings disappeared, and all that was was them and the music. They didn't notice that other pairs were joining them on the dancefloor. They were lost in their own world.

The magical moment that Kagura had dreamed of as a little girl was finally here. She might be no master of waltz, but she felt like she was flying when Sougo picked her up again, this time pressing her against him, and waltzed around in circles with her in his embrace. Closing her eyes, Kagura spread her arms and leaned her head back, a happy smile gracing her lips.

* * *

><p>Sougo had never seen her like this. Something had happened, a right word or a shared look at the right time, but he didn't care what it was. All that mattered was that he held the most precious China monster in the world in his arms.<p>

Sougo finally slowed down his circling and lowered Kagura back down, knowing that the song was coming to an end soon. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him, still smiling brightly, and he found himself answering to that smile as he started leading her among the other dancers. She had finally relaxed and was clearly enjoying the dance. Sougo felt rather accomplished as she willingly let herself be led around, even when he spontaneously dipped her she followed his lead.

As the last note rang in the air, Sougo pulled his fiancée closer and simply held her. Kagura was flushed and looked at him with confused eyes, but didn't fight against his hold. Sougo felt lighter than he had in years.

That is, until a prince from a neighbouring country came over and tapped on his shoulder. Sougo tried his hardest not to glare the red-haired dumbass into oblivion or skewer him with his sword (yes, Sougo had actually taken his trusty sword into the party, saying it was part of his uniform).

"Excuse me, but could I have the next song?" the nearly 30 years old prince asked politely.

Sougo, swallowing his jealousy (yes, seeing Kagura have fun with other men made him jealous, got a problem?) nodded and released his hold on Kagura reluctantly. Before leaving though, he raised his hand to gently brush his knuckles against Kagura's cheek. A very intimate gesture, considering their culture.

"I'll see you later," he said with soft eyes and left a very red Kagura staring after him as he went to socialize – something he hated but what was necessary as a royalty.

* * *

><p>After countless dances with people Kagura had never seen before she finally managed to escape back to her seat. Mitsuba greeted her with a happy smile and offered a glass of juice, which Kagura gratefully accepted.<p>

"I see you were having fun earlier," Mitsuba commented with a slightly mischievous glint in her eye.

Kagura swallowed and nodded. "I only learned waltz, but dancing is quite fun. Especially -" Noticing what she was about to say, Kagura quickly cut herself off.

"Especially...with Sou-chan?" Mitsuba asked slyly.

Kagura blushed but nodded. No use hiding it, since it seemed as though Mitsuba could see through everything. "A-aren't you going to dance, Mitsuba-san?" Kagura asked to change topic.

Mitsuba sadly shook her head. "My health hasn't been the best lately, so I'm afraid I can't. I have to leave the party early, too, sorry," she said with an apologetic smile.

Kagura worriedly turned to her. "You're sick, Mitsuba-san? Is it bad?"

Mistuba chuckled. "No, I've always had a weak body, so it's nothing new. Thank you for worrying about me." She looked at Kagura's flushed cheeks. "Are you hot, Kagura-chan?"

"Yeah, a little," Kagura admitted.

"You should go outside for a while, then. Take a little walk in the garden and cool off a little," Mitsuba suggested.

Kagura nodded. "I think I'll do that. Thank you, Mitsuba-san," she said before standing up and heading to the nearest exit.

* * *

><p>Kagura took a deep breath in as she felt the cool night's wind blow against her tired body and clear her thoughts. The sky was clear so she could even see the stars. Smiling like a small child she took off her shoes, grabbed them in her hands and started walking around the soft, cool grass, her head bent back to look at the stars above. It was so quiet and empty outside compared to the room she had just left. Kagura shuddered as the wind blew again. <em>'Maybe a bit too cool...'<em>

"Why are you here, China?"

Kagura twirled around to face her fiancé and grinned, not really feeling bummed by his presence. "Looking at the stars, dummy. Learn to appreciate your surroundings and maybe you'll understand why people like looking at pretty things," she playfully teased him.

Sougo walked over to her and looked up at the sky. "I do know how to appreciate beautiful things," he shot back and turned his eyes to look at her. "Why else would I be here with you and not inside enjoying the glamour?"

"How would I know? Maybe your sense of beauty is as warped as you are?" Kagura shrugged, not catching the compliment at all.

"Most definitely."

_'Funny,' _Kagura thought as they stood there, side by side, looking at the stars. _'The words aren't that different from the usual, but how come the atmosphere's completely different? Is this what they call flirting?' _She then promptly blushed at her thoughts.

"Are you cold?" Sougo suddenly asked. "Stupid, why did you come outside without anything to keep you warm?"

Kagura glared at him. "I'm not cold! And I don't have anything to keep me warm that wouldn't look ridiculous with this dress!"

Sougo swiftly reached over and pinched her ear. Kagura yelped and swatted his hand away. "Your ear is practically freezing, iiiiidiot," he drawled.

Kagura scowled and turned her back on him, wrapping her arms around herself. "None of your business! It's a bit chilly, so what!"

Kagura's eyes widened when she felt something warm wrap around her. Taking a look, she found his black military jacket on herself. "Wha-?" she turned around to face Sougo again. "Won't you get cold now?"

Sougo shrugged. "Not really, I still have my shirt and vest."

"But-"

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

Kagura pouted, but was actually very grateful. She pulled the jacket on and couldn't help but notice how big it felt on her. _'There's not that much height difference, but he's still so much bigger than I am.' _Taking a furtive sniff at the cloth, Kagura noted that it carried the same metallic scent as its owner.

Kagura looked up and noticed Sougo staring at her. "W-what is it?"

"It looks good on you," he commented nonchalantly, making her blush all over again. "I'm surprised you're wearing it."

"Well, it's cold, and you told me to wear it -"

"I'm talking about the necklace, stupid."

Kagura reached up to feel the cold silver around her neck. Her blush fell again at her thoughts. "Well, it sure makes me look like the royal pet, doesn't it?"

Now it was Sougo's turn to look utterly confused. "Huh? A pet?"

Kagura scowled at him. "Well, it looks like a collar, doesn't it? Why didn't you put a nametag on it?" she snarled, all her previous playfulness gone with the wind.

Sougo blinked and shook his head disappointedly. "I knew you were stupid, but to this extent..." he sighed mockingly.

"Why, you -!" Kagura drew her hand back to hit him with her shoe, but he grabbed her wrist.

"It's like you. Not extravagant, frail or feminine, but strong and simple in its beauty. Not breaking like a twig under slightest preassure," he said and the look in his eyes suddenly changed. His eyes turned dark and his grip on her wrist tightened. "That's why it has to be you. No one else will do anymore."

Kagura couldn't understand. He was so close, so dark, so possessive, so...alluring. She had no idea what he meant by his words or why he was being like this all of a sudden. She felt a completely new feeling growing inside her. It reminded her of her own beastly side, but was slightly different. She wanted him closer, as close as physically was possible, she wanted him to say more words like earlier. This new feeling scared her senseless.

Not thinking, Kagura chucked her other shoe at him. In his surprise he let go of her wrist and Kagura took that chance to run. She didn't know where she was going or why she was even running away. She just ran.

* * *

><p>When Kagura finally stopped to catch her breath she was almost on the other side of the castle. Leaning on the wall, she noticed she had dropped her other shoe somewhere, too, and her feet were hurting and freezing. But that was the least of her worries.<p>

_'What the hell just happened?' _she wondered and slid down to sit on the cold ground, hugging her knees close to her chest and burying her face in her arms. _'I...I actually wanted him to touch me. Why? All this time, haven't I been disgusted by him? Wasn't it only my genes reacting back then?' _Kagura could still see Sougo's dark eyes in her mind, and she felt another heavy blush creep on her face. _'I couldn't have actually...when did that happen? When on earth was there a moment for me to fall for that super sadistic jerkface?'_

Kagura's thoughts were cut short when she sensed someone approaching. She sprang up and got ready to fight in case it was an enemy (or Sougo), getting especially wary when she saw that it was a tall stranger with broad bodybuild. He wasn't even wearing formal clothing, so he certainly wasn't a guest.

He put up his hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm sorry to disturb you, milady, I mean you no harm. I just wanted to ask you something."

Kagura frowned at him, not trusting him one bit. "And that is?" she rudely snapped at him.

The dark stranger suddenly leaned forward, making Kagura jump back in alarm. His eyes gleamed in the dark. "...Kagura? Is that really you?" he asked in wonder.

Kagura's frown deepened. "Do I know you?" she asked suspiciously.

The man's face fell in disappointment. "Don't you remember me, Kagura? It's me, your cousin Kyo! Have you really forgotten?" he asked in distress.

Kagura thought for a while and it finally clicked in her mind. "Oh yeah, you're that guy who went missing years ago and was deemed dead some time ago. Did you need something from me?" she asked, letting her guard down now that she knew he was family.

Kyo beamed at her and pulled her into a bonecrushing hug, ignoring her protests. "I'm so glad, Kagura! Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here right away!"

"What shit are you spouting? Let me -!"

"What do you think you are doing to my fiancée, stranger?"

Kagura's skin crawled at the cold tone in Sougo's voice. She was able to turn her head just enough to see his expression, and while his overall appearence was as aloof as ever, she shuddered at the amount of hatred in his eyes.

Kyo glared right back at him. "So it really is true that Kagura is engaged to you, then," he growled.

Sougo didn't even blink at his hostility. "Show some respect, would you. You obviously know who I am, but who are you? And let go of my fiancée, you are being highly offensive."

Kyo ignored his order. "I am Kyo, and I have come to take back what is rightfully mine. I'm taking Kagura home with me."

"WHAT?" Kagura screeched in fury. "I've never been yours, you disgusting pig!"

"You heard her," Sougo continued nonchalantly. "She doesn't want to go with you. Now, let go of her or I'll chop your arm off." His murderous tone in his threat made Kagura shiver in both delight and fear. _'Gwad, do I really like his possessiveness that much?'_

Kyo just smirked at him. "Try it, prince, for I sure as hell am not letting go of my Kagura."

Kagura gathered herself and kneed her cousin, aiming for the groin but sadly missing the main target. The impact was still strong enough to make Kyo let go of her in surprise and pain, and Kagura took her chance to jump away from him and move over to where Sougo was standing. He took took a hold of her upper arms and looked her over, making Kagura wonder if he was actually worried about her and checking her for any injuries.

"You look like shit, China. How on earth did you manage to ruin your dress like this?" he asked in his normal tone.

Forget it, he was still the same jerk she knew.

"I brought your shoes, put them on before your feet start bleeding all over the place from running barefoot," he said and held out her white shoes.

"Ah, thanks. Stay still so I can hold onto you for balance."

"Why do I have to do something like that? Use the wall."

"No way, it's cold and dirty!"

They were completely ignoring the intruding, love-sick Yato cousin, and he didn't like it one bit. He started yelling. "Kagura! Do you honestly think it's a good idea to stay here with that guy? Are you out of your mind? Mixing our pure Yato blood with an outsider, it's unheard of!"

Kagura glared at him over her shoulder, stubbornly clutching onto Sougo's shoulder for balance as she pulled her shoes on. "I don't give a rat's ass about those things! I'd rather be with him than my own cousin!" she yelled back.

"Your parents are cousins, too! Even sibling marriages aren't all that unusual in our family, you know that! What's so wrong about us, then?"

"It's disgusting!"

"So you're going to mix our superior blood with normal people?"

"What's so superior about us? At least with Sougo my children won't become killing machines and murderers!"

As much as her last argument pleased him, Sougo had had enough. He pointedly wrapped an arm around Kagura's waist, cutting off her yelling and causing her to blush heavily, and pulled her to his side. "This conversation is over. Leave before I decide to kill you for your crimes concerning the royal family's honour," he ordered coldly and began steering Kagura away. She gladly allowed him to, turning away from her cousin.

"I challenge you, Okita Sougo!"

The two stopped and turned halfway to see Kyo pointing his umbrella at Sougo. "I challenge you to a duel, and when I win I will take Kagura to be my bride," he declared haughtily.

Kagura growled and got ready to yell at him for being a total jackass about this but Sougo stopped her. He gave her a quick _shut the fuck up and follow my lead_-look and wrapped both arms around her. Hugging her possessively, he smirked at Kyo. "I have no reason to accept your challenge seeing as, unlike with you, she is quite happy right where she is, aren't you?" he said, directing his question at Kagura.

Kagura, very embarrassed, nodded mutely before burying her flaming face in his chest and reaching up to nervously grip the back of his vest. With her newfound feelings she was torn between wanting to either hit him or hold him tighter. Not knowing which would do more damage, she stayed frozen in that position and prayed for time to go faster.

She could hear Kyo's laboured breathing. He was probably desperately trying to keep his anger under control. "She's lying! She doesn't know what she wants!" he argued childishly.

_'I don't want you to tell me what I know, want or feel,' _Kagura thought angrily and pointedly rubbed her cheek against Sougo's chest, turning away from Kyo in the process.

Sougo twitched a bit at her gesture but regained composure in a blink of an eye. "Then how about this," he started and bent down to rest his cheek on top of Kagura's head. "If I win, you'll swear on your life to never, under any circumstances, approach this woman ever again for as long as you live?"

Kagura pulled her head back and looked up at him in shock. "What are you -?"

"Deal, I'll win anyway," Kyo answered confidently.

Kagura turned to hurriedly add another condition, since the deal seemed already done. "It's going to be a legal duel with the official dueling rules of this kingdom!"

Kyo seemed disappointed and sighed before putting his umbrella away. "I should've known you would try to protect him with that. Fine, I'll be content with just nearly killing him," he said before smiling at her. "Don't worry, Kagura, you'll be freed soon," he promised before turning and fleeing.

"Freed only to be put into an even more nasty cage," Kagura muttered darkly, tiredly resting her forehead on Sougo's chest. "Why did he have to show up?" she groaned. "Why did you make such a deal anyway? He's aiming to kill you, you should've noticed that!" she continued with an angry tone, not wanting to show just how worried she really was.

"If I didn't, he'd never leave you alone. I don't appreciate people trying to steal my things," he answered nonchalantly.

_'Should I be happy he called me his or offended at being labeled a thing?'_

Kagura sighed in exaspiration and pulled away from his hug. "The media is going to have a field day when they find out about this."

"Of course they are, it'll be a great chance for me to get into the spotlight again."

Kagura sighed again and started walking away. "Whatever, I don't care anymore!" she called back before leaving him behind. She bit her lower lip, slightly breaking the skin. _'You don't even care that you're making me worried sick for you! Stupid, insensitive, sadistic jerk!'_

* * *

><p><strong>...review? Please?<strong>

**poakkis**_  
><em>


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally! You can't imagine how busy my life has been! Still, I'm ashamed that it took me a month to update again T.T**

**I sincerely hope you like this chapter at least a little. It was, yet again, a painful journey of rewriting the original script to mature it up to par with my current style and better suit my needs. Plus adding a little bit more Kamui and OK interaction to please you guys ^.^**

**Plenty of love and muffins to my reviewers: _Shinichi's Lover, Koatan, Neil_ (yes, I read every last word of your review happily xD It's nice to get long reviews. Well, this fairytale's á la Gintama, so there's no traditional Prince Charming or Damsel in Distress, but there'll be a happily ever after (maybe) xD I don't want to spoil anyone, so please read this chapter to see about Kyo's fate!), _Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, ayaka chi, domo-chi _(thank you so much for your kind words! The reason I didn't pick Kamui as a love rival is simply because I could never write incest. Having siblings myself, the mere thought disgusts me. Sorry for those who like incest, but it's not my cup of tea...), _yiseunggi, Alassea _(thank you! Here's your update, finally!), _RoseFriendships _(=^.^= here's your long-awaited update!), _Cherryde4th, peep (_m'dear, don't apologise for reviewing! Thank you for explaining OTL for me, I'm a bit wiser now ^.^ Glad to hear the last chapter made you laugh and didn't disappoint you! Yes, I'm honored to have such lovely, life-threatening fans), _miki negishi I, Zubattack_ (who reviewed chap 3, but anyway it's too late to add her/him to chap 4 thank yous)! I ADORE YOU!**

** Please enjoy chapter 10 ^.^**

* * *

><p><strong>Dueling for a woman is just another way two egos clash<strong>

Kagura had been pacing the hallways since breakfast, unable to stay still. It was the day of the duel, and while the people were all more or less excited and looking forward to the clash (those people including Mitsuba with her hopelessly romantic views), Kagura was simply anxious. As much as she despised the present Kyo, he was still her cousin, her family. She had used to treat him like an older brother when she was little, but apparently his opinion on their relationship had always been very different. On the other hand, she had _somehow_ fallen for Sougo, and while she enjoyed a little brawl here and there, she knew that Kyo was going to aim for the kill, rules or not. If Kagura had been asked if she wanted her fiancé killed two or three months ago, she would've payed to get the job done.

Well, things change.

Kagura nervously glanced at a nearby clock. _'Only an hour left...' _she thought and bit her lip. _'I wonder how he's doing. I should go and check up on him.'_

So, with a new destination, Kagura started heading towards their bedroom. She knew for a fact that Sougo was preparing for the duel in there.

Reaching the huge door, Kagura took a peek in before opening the door fully and slipping in. Sougo was sitting by the window, looking outside. He was already dressed in his military uniform, and Kagura absently thought he looked good in it.

"Ready for the fight?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too nervous.

Sougo visibly jumped in his seat and whipped his head around to face her. _'He must've been deep in thought,' _Kagura thought with a frown. _'That, or he's getting cold feet.'_

"China? What are you doing here?" he asked, back to his aloof facade.

Kagura shrugged casually. "Just came to check up on you, make sure you won't chicken out or anything," she joked but sobered up immediately. "You're really going to do this, aren't you?" She didn't even know why she wanted to know his answer.

"Of course I am. There's a huge crowd already gathered at the dueling grounds, it would ruin my reputation if I didn't give them a show," he answered and went back to gazing out of the window.

Kagura blinked at him. "...that's it?" she asked quietly.

Sougo didn't even look at her when he "hmm"ed back.

Kagura felt like someone had punched her in the gut. He didn't care at all that she might actually be worried about his well-being? He didn't care that she might be gone, someone else's bride, in just a couple of hours? Kagura grit her teeth and fisted her hands tightly to keep angry, to keep from crying. She would never cry in front of this cold, uncaring bastard.

"Fine," she growled, frustrated to find her voice quivering, "Go ahead, give them a show and die like the damn stupid moron you are. See if I care when you get your skull smashed out there." She could feel the familiar itchy feeling in her eyes she always got right before she cried, so without another word or glance, Kagura stormed out of the room and as far away from it as she could.

Inside, Sougo had tiredly closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>The duel was finally about to start and Kagura was heading to join Mitsuba at their private seats when Kamui cornered her. He looked even happier than usual, and Kagura dryly thought that it must've been because of the coming bloodspilling.<p>

"What's with that look, sis?" he asked amusedly. "You look like your rabbit died."

Kagura glared at him. "Don't mention Binky in my presence, stupid brother. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I never said anything about Binky."

"You implied that."

"Maybe, but you're evading my question."

Kagura groaned. "You're the last person I want to talk to about this, so get out of my way and let me get to my seat. I expect you have a vip-seat, too?"

Kamui grinned even wider. "Of course, I've been looking forward to this for quite a while. Kyo makes a perfect sacrificial lamb for my plan," he hummed contentedly.

Kagura's eyes widened in shock. "A WHAT?" she screeched.

"Enjoy the show, sis. I have to get to my seat, now. See you," he sang and skipped away before Kagura could stop him.

Mitsuba gave her a worried look as Kagura finally made it to her seat. Before she could voice her worry, though, the trumpets began playing and the crowd cheered as two men walked into the arena. Kagura worriedly bit her lip as she watched Hijikata, who was acting as the referee, read out the rules and penalties that came from breaking them. _'Kamui is obviously up to something, and knowing him, it can't be anything good,' _she thought anxiously and quickly scanned the crowd, unable to spot her brother. She bit her lip and fisted her hands. _'Oh god, if the idiot sadist ends up dying here I'm going to regret my last words to him for the rest of my life!' _

* * *

><p>Sougo barely registered the crowd's presence as he stared at his opponent in the eye. He couldn't even bother to listen to Hijikata's instructions, not that he actually wanted or even needed to. He knew the rules already, and Hijikata never said anything important enough for Sougo to want to listen to him. No, Sougo much preferred his own thoughts, no matter how unpleasant those turned out to be at the moment.<p>

Sure, he had basically declared war with Kagura's cousin, and at that moment it had felt really good to rub their engagement in his face and pour salt over open wounds, but he couldn't keep ignoring this little, annoying voice (that strangely reminded him of Hijikata) in his head that insisted that Kagura would be better off with someone similar to her. After all, Kagura and Sougo were always arguing and even full out fighting over every single thing, there was rarely a peaceful moment between them. Those peaceful moments usually required at least one of them to be asleep, anyway.

So would it really be worth it? Would it be worth the insecurity, knowing that no matter how much he wanted to just lock her in a cage and keep her tied to him she could at any moment break free if she wanted to? He was selfish and possessive, self-centered even, but he didn't want to make her cry. He had to laugh at himself for that thought. Okita Sougo, the renowned Prince of Sadists, didn't want to hurt a girl who could easily knock out men thrice her size! How absurd was that?

"Enjoying the thought of dying?"

Sougo refocused his gaze and saw Kyo sneering at him. Sougo smirked as Hijikata started backing away from them. "Nah, I'm an S, sorry to disappoint you."

Kyo glared at him, reminding Sougo of a huge kid whose soccer ball was taken away by a bullying older brother. "I'll wipe that smirk off your face in less than a second, pretty boy. I **will **take Kagura home with me," he growled and took a stance.

Sougo's smirk grew wider as he readied himself. "Loudly barking dogs rarely are all that tough."

* * *

><p>Then, all too soon, the duel began. Kagura flinched and gasped whenever one of them got hit, more so when it came to Sougo. To her they appeared quite evenly matched, but...<p>

"This is odd," Mitsuba muttered thoughtfully, a confused frown on her face.

Kagura instantly whirled around on her seat to face her. "What? What's wrong?" she asked frantically, mentally kicking herself for sounding pathetic.

Mitsuba took no notice of Kagura's unusual behaviour and didn't turn her eyes away from the fighting men as she answered. "I know the opponent is a Yato, but this isn't the first time Sou-chan's fought against one. The difference isn't supposed to be this big. Why is he hesitating?" she wondered out loud, biting her nail anxiously. "Almost like he isn't trying to win..."

Kagura was shocked still. _'He's not trying to win...? He's going to lose on purpose? After that confident speech and outrageous deal, he's going to give up?' _Her doubts were answered when the crowd suddenly gasped. Kagura turned back to the duel and felt her heart sink all the way to her toes. Sougo was on his knees, supported by his sword, his head bowed. Kagura could see the blood that was oozing from a wound near his temple. Kyo looked just as battered, but he was still standing, looking incredibly smug as he turned to wave to Kagura.

Kagura completely ignored her cousin's gesture. She refused to believe her fiancé was already done. So, she did what anyone else in her position would've done.

"SOUGO, YOU BLOODY MORON!"

Yes, lean dangerously far over the railing and shout insults at her champion.

Sougo visiby flinched at her shout before snapping his head up to stare at her. His face was priceless, but Kagura would tease him for that later. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't screw with me, dumbass! I know for a fact that you're better than this so get up and fight for real! I'll never forgive you if you let him carry me away like some trophy!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, ignoring the shocked looks everyone present was giving her. Anger and worry clashed in her eyes as she gripped the railing tighter and leaned even further over it. "KICK HIS ASS!"

* * *

><p>Kyo was dumbstruck and hurt. "W-why are you cheering him on? I already won, didn't I?" he shouted, sounding like a child who got cheated in a race.<p>

Sougo, on the other hand, couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his mouth as he watched Kagura get dragged back to her seat by Mitsuba and two guards. "Damn you, China," he muttered before forcing himself to stand up, his head hanging low. "Always messing with my head. God I hate you," he chuckled amusedly and raised his voice. "Hey, you!"

Kyo turned to face him and looked surprised to see him standing. "You shouldn't be able to stand!" he cried out in surprise, all confidence and smugness gone.

"Remember the deal? I really did think about it afterwards but, in the end, it's hopeless. I'm too selfish to let her go." He raised his head and Kyo fliched at the look on his face. Who could blame him? One normally didn't see such bloodlust in a person's eyes, not to mention those eyes looked redder than ever.

Kyo wasn't sure what hit him. All he knew was that the prince had drawn his sword and he now had a gaping wound across his front. Blood gushed out and he felt lightheaded. Turning around, he saw Sougo standing tall, giving him the coldest look yet.

"Let me give you one piece of advice," Sougo said with the authority of a king and pointed his bloodied sword at Kyo. "Never lay a finger on anything that is mine. That includes Kagura."

Kyo lowered his head in defeat. "Yes, Your Highness. I understand." He was on the ground even before the words had left his mouth. Medics were already hurrying towards them.

The audience was cheering and laughing happily, yelling out their congratulations, but Sougo didn't give a damn about them. He turned to the private balcony, but saw only his sister. She didn't look happy, though. She seemed to be screaming in horror...and for a good reason.

Kagura had jumped off the balcony and was freefalling from about 15 meters high.

Kagura landed with difficulty and ran over to him, tears in her eyes and an angry scowl on her lips. She started yelling before she even reached him. "You freakin' dumbass! If it was that easy why didn't you finish it sooner? Did you really have to get so beaten up, you moron?"

She had finally reached him and glared at him heatedly. Strange, Sougo found her all the more attractive like this, all teary-eyed and worried for his well-being. He didn't really mind the yelling and insults either, anymore.

Sougo grinned a little. That's his China, after all. "I told you, didn't I? I had to give a good show to the people," he answered nonchalantly. The world was starting to sway oddly...

Kagura let out an angry screech before continuing her yelling. "Didn't you think about your own safety at all? You huge moron!" She looked like she would hit him if he wasn't injured already.

Sougo chuckled and unsteadily reached out his bloody hand to stroke Kagura's cheek, delighted to see her blush and stutter. "That's exactly why it's got to be you, China. No one else..."

The last thing Sougo heard as darkness swallowed him was Kagura frantically calling his name.

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><p>The next time Sougo opened his eyes, he was greeted by the ceiling in their bedroom. He blinked a couple of times and carefully started to turn his head to his left. <em>'Bad idea,' <em>he decided as his vision blurred and pain shot through his head, so he eased his head back to its original position. He had caught a glimpse of red, though...

"China?" he called out, his voice raspy and barely above a whisper. By the surprised yelp he was sure she had heard him, though.

Sure enough, Kagura's anxious face appeared in his still blurry field of vision in two seconds. She stared deeply into his glazed over eyes and prodded his cheek with her finger. "You're really awake?" she finally asked.

Sougo huffed, wincing at the pain in his side. _'Don't tell me I broke a rib...'_

Kagura sighed and visibly relaxed. She even smiled a bit at him. "You're a real mess, you know? Broken bones, serious wounds, a head injury...it's a wonder you're alive at all!"

Sougo rolled his eyes, ignoring the way it hurt. "How long was I out?" he croaked.

Kagura leaned back for a second and returned with a glass of water. "About a week. It's the sixth night now. Or early morning, since the sun is rising," she answered as she helped him drink. Sougo noticed the way she was far more gentle than ever before when it came to him. _'China has motherly instincts. Who would've thought?'_

She set the empty glass back on the table and sat down on the bed next to him, refusing to face him and opting to stare at the wall she was facing as she leaned on his uninjured leg. "Mitsuba-san's been worried sick. You've been the talk of the city for all this time, it's all about you wherever one goes. Kamui told me to tell you that "it was worth the wait, I was right about you all along", whatever that means. Oh, and Kyo's fine, Kamui told me that he's gone on another long mission to get away from here. His injuries healed in a couple of days, so -"

"China," Sougo interrupted her tiredly. "shut up, your rambling's giving me a headache."

Kagura turned to give him a glare before returning her gaze to the wall. "Well, sorry for wanting to fill you in on things!" she pouted.

It was silent for a few minutes before Sougo spoke up. "And you?" he asked, noticing in relief that his vision was slowly clearing.

Kagura jumped at the sudden question and turned her wide eyes to him. "What?"

"What have you been doing while I was out?" he asked. He wanted to make sure Kyo hadn't broken the deal.

Kagura, surprisingly, blushed and turned away from him. "N-nothing much. You know, speaking with Kamui and Mitsuba-san, annoying Gin-chan...just normal stuff."

Sougo didn't quite believe her. He smirked. "Oh? And you just happened to be sitting by my sickbed at the crack of dawn?"

_'Bullseye,' _Sougo thought victoriously as Kagura's blush darkened. "F-fine, maybe I've spent some of my spare time sitting here! So what? Don't read too much into it, stupid!"

Sougo's laugh quickly changed into violent coughing, making Kagura reach over and pull him up so she could rub his back. She was being so caring that Sougo couldn't bring himself to humiliate her more for now. "Nice relatives you have, by the way. Your father's obsessed with his hair, your brother with killing and your cousin with you. I can't wait to meet more," he said as his coughing calmed.

A relieved smile spread on her lips. "Well, now you have no choice but to meet them. You're still stuck with me, after all," she said with good humour and stood up, saying something about going to inform the doctor.

_'Stuck with you? Oh well,' _Sougo thought and closed his eyes for a nap. _'That doesn't sound too bad.'_

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><p><strong>I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with this, but it's way better than the original, trust me on this.<strong>

**~poakkis**


	11. Chapter 11

**...I'm so dead, aren't I? I promised to update sooner, told people I'd try to make it before the year ends, and this...I'm a disgrace! **

**On another note, HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I hope everyone had a terrific Christmas and an even more amazing New Year! Here, there was a real windstorm that lasted for days, people didn't have electricity, trees fell on roads and power lines, there were small floods on the coast...it was a different Christmas compared to the usual meter-deep snow and -25 degrees Celsius xD**

**I'm not kidding you, I was almost moved to tears when I saw how popular this story is: 112 reviews! More and more faves! Oh, I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! Thanks for sticking with me! T.T**

**A round of well-earned thank yous to: _Zubattack, Ayjah, Koatan, Neil _**_(_Yah, Kamui's awesome! In all honesty, even I have no idea if he predicted Kyo's actions or not, but he probably did. I'm so glad you liked the OK parts in last chapter, they are always really hard to write. It all works in my head, but when I have to write it...oh well. Oh, such things as love confessions aren't really their thing, or that's what I think, so it'll take more than that to happen! And as said before, I have no idea what Kamui's thinking of, so don't ask me xD Love your long reviews!)**, _Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, Shinichi's Lover, ayaka chi, Cherryde4th, Alice P e a c h e s, yiseunggi, peep _**_(_Well, not resistance, more like stubbornness xD Thank you~)**, _domo-chi _**_(_*hugs* I might make them cute, but reviews like yours make me want to continue writing! Revenging isn't really a Yato thing, I think. A personal decision like that, plus it was against both Umibouzu's and Kamui's will, wouldn't be likely to stir up such a reaction)**, _Diclonious57, IchibanCupRamen, Rosefriendships_**(Hopefully I didn't make you wait too long...), _**delilahsauuurus **_**and**_** arkee**_**! All of you deserve a big hug and a slice of cake!**

**Maybe I'll let you (who actually bothers to read my shitty ramblings each and every time, thank you for that) go on and read the new chapter now. Enjoy chapter 11! ^.^**

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><p><strong>When plot bunnies run away authors are left with no choice but to write a load of crap to save their asses from bloodthirsty readers waiting for an update<strong>

It had taken quite a while for Sougo to return to full health after his duel with Kyo. The doctors wouldn't let him even sit up without help for a month, never mind the fact that Sougo sneaked out of bed for a walk alone whenever he could, and after they allowed him to walk around a little he was to always have someone accompanying him. Guess twice if he listened to them.

While Sougo was stuck in bed and slowly dying of boredom, Kagura used her time on socializing with everyone in the palace. She quickly befriended a maid called Otae (who was actually Mitsuba's main informant coughrumourmillcough on the engaged couple, but Kagura didn't need to know that), spent quite a lot of time with Gin (they would try to out-annoy each other and sometimes even spar a little), went out of her way to embarrass and frustrate a kitchen helper called Shinpachi (who was actually Otae's brother, though Kagura didn't believe it until she witnessed his sister-complex), even sat with Sougo to keep him company (yelling at him for not listening to the doctors' orders, force-feeding him his medicine, wrestling him back to bed if she saw him wandering around etc), but most of all she spent her time in Mistuba's company. Kagura really enjoyed having girl-time with her future-sister-in-law, whether it be chatting, dressing up or even drinking tea, and it seemed like Mitsuba rather enjoyed her company, too. The only thing that Kagura didn't like as much was how every single time they talked Mitsuba would somehow weasel in questions about Kagura and Sougo. Here is a very typical example on such conversation:

Mitsuba: "Yes, I love those flowers, too. I actually had them in my wedding bouquet. Speaking of which, what flowers would you like in yours?"

Kagura: "Umm, I don't know, I haven't-"

Mitsuba: "Oh, these would suit you, don't you think?"

Kagura: "Isn't it too early to-?"

Mitsuba: "Have you talked about the date yet? You have been engaged for what, four months already? Isn't it about time to start planning the wedding?"

Kagura: "I-I just remembered I promised to go to town with Otae! So sorry, Mistuba-san, see you later!"

And just like that, Kagura always managed to escape such conversations, but Mitsuba's questions did grow roots in her thoughts. Kagura actually found herself wondering those exactly same questions quite often as of late. The reason for their rather long engagement period was obvious enough to everyone, but hadn't they improved their relationship lately? At least Kagura didn't want to kill Sougo whenever she saw him, and that's saying a lot.

Kagura knew that there was no way in hell she would be the one to bring up the topic of a wedding. No way was she volunteering to open the Pandora's box, no sir. She also knew for a fact that Sougo was one damned stubborn brat of a sadist and would probably never take the initiative. He would most likely put it off until the very last goddamn minute and even then it would probably be Mitsuba who got him to work on the plans. Was Kagura ever going to become a real bride?

Three months passed by, and late summer turned to late autumn. Kagura and Sougo, after the doctors finally let him return to his duties after nearly three months, went back to their normal everyday lives at last. The first step was Kagura's return to their room, since she had been sleeping in a room of her own ever since the duel (she was considered a health hazard even in sleep). Eating meals with Mitsuba and Hijikata (read: consuming food while having a rare chance to act civil by ignoring each other), studying together (read: Sougo studying and Kagura snoozing in her seat), bickering (read: aiming to injure each other while shouting insults and destroying furniture) and sleeping together (read: Sougo dragging Kagura to act as a pillow for random naps in random places inside the palace since it was too cold outside; falling asleep for the night after a more or less vicious exchange of words (it is worth mentioning that the distance between them in the bed was gradually decreasing little by little)) were all part of their routine again. The only thing that was different was the notable drop in maliciousness in their interaction, which had Mitsuba grinning and practically purring happily. Hijikata was a little spooked by her wide grins at times...

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><p>That morning was, from the very beginning, not like any other morning. For one, Kagura was the first to wake up and pull away from Sougo. The nights were getting pretty chilly in the huge stone building, and even with a constant fire in the big fireplace the bedroom was freezing cold, so the two naturally snuggled close in their sleep (or when they pretended to be asleep...). The act wasn't mentioned, since snuggling kept them both warm and talking about it would be awkward for both of them, but they never once tried to avoid the act either. A maid who sneaked in to put more wood in the fireplace in the middle of the night would always, without a doubt, see a heartwarming scene in that room. No wonder those shifts were practically fought over.<p>

So, as Kagura silently pulled away from Sougo and out of bed, facing the rush of cold air, she had to seriously fight the urge to dive back under the covers and snuggle back into the warmth of her fiancé's body. Instead, she rushed to the fireplace, threw in more logs and sat on the thick carpet in front of the flames. She just sat there, humming a random tune, hugging her knees and swaying slightly to her own rhythm. It was when she happened to glance outside that another unusual thing was brought to light.

It was snowing.

Big, white flakes of snow were slowly falling to the ground outside. Kagura scrambled to her feet and ran to the closest window, her blue eyes shining with childish delight as she saw the grounds. Everything was covered with a thick blanket of snow, untouched and clearly begging for her to jump outside and play to her heart's content.

_'But it's no fun to play alone,' _Kagura thought with a slight frown. _'But who can I ask? Everyone's busy with work, I don't want to put Mitsuba-san's health at risk, Gin-chan wouldn't give a shit...' _

And so, ever so slowly, Kagura's eyes traveled to the bed where a sandy-haired young man was peacefully sleeping. Her wide grin returned as she ran and jumped on him, scaring the living daylights out of the poor guy.

"What the -!"

"Get up! We're going to play outside!"

* * *

><p>Sougo stared blankly ahead at the whiteness as Kagura, giggling like a little kid, ran off and started jumping around. He was still half-asleep, had been forced to get up, get dressed and skip breakfast and was now thinking how the hell it had all happened in a matter of minutes. <em>'Seems like she can be efficient when she wants to,' <em>he thought idly and yawned. "China, why the hell am I out here freezing my ass at this hour?" he asked the young woman who was currently making a snow angel.

Kagura sat up and grinned, her cheeks red with cold and excitement. "You're always cooped up inside these days, doing paperwork and sleeping, you need to have a little fun! Stop moping and enjoy the snow!" Having said that, Kagura jumped up, lost her footing and face-planted brilliantly.

Sougo raised an eyebrow. "Is getting a face-full of snow supposed to be fun, China? If that's the case, I'd rather go inside and -" SPLAT

Kagura smirked victoriously and wiped the snow off her hands. "It depends on who gets a face-full of snow," she snickered.

Sougo wiped his face and answered to her smirk with one of his own. The war was on.

Snowballs were flying left and right as the crazed couple fought to death – no, wrong wording, sorry – fought valiantly to make the other admit defeat. Which just wouldn't happen. So I guess they really were fighting to death in a way. Anyway, after half an hour of dodging, throwing and scrambling in the snow, it became clear to them both that they would never get anywhere like that. What do you think they wordlessly agreed?

It would be an all-out, whatever goes battle until one of them gave up.

Kagura went first, jumping forward and aiming a kick to Sougo's face. Thanks to his reflexes, Sougo was able to grab her ankle and, using her momentum, throw her away. She had been prepared for this and thus managed to hit Sougo's shoulder with a hidden icicle even though her kick didn't connect. Sougo soon retaliated by tackling her down and shoving a generous amount of snow down her back before getting thrown off by a screeching Kagura. The on-looking people inside the palace (the two had unknowingly gathered quite a crowd) were divided into those who sighed tiredly at the royal couple's antics, those who laughed and cheered them on and those who giggled, "kyaa"ed and "awwww"ed. They were all given the disappointment of their day, though, as the currently furiously wrestling couple suddenly disappeared from sight.

* * *

><p>Sougo panted a little as he held the struggling Kagura still. He had successfully locked all of her limbs, never mind the fact that he had to practically lie on top of her to accomplish that. She was, after all, rather strong for a woman.<p>

He smirked down at her scowling face mockingly. "Now **this **is something worth freezing my ass for. Having fun down there, China?"

Kagura glared at him, her cheeks flaming (from anger, cold or embarrassment, no one knows). She looked like she might spit on his face. "In your dreams, jerk! Get off, you're heavy!" she complained and tried to struggle free. When Sougo just added more force to his hold, she knew it was hopeless. He wouldn't let her get away until he got bored.

"I'm not the one who's trying to drive the cooks insane with their appetite," he commented and tilted his head thoughtfully. "You know, I could get used to seeing you like this: helpless, at my mercy, beneath me..."

"Quit your dumbass ramblings, sadist!" Kagura shouted and, with a very tired sigh, relaxed her muscles. "Fine, I give, now get off me, my butt is freezing," she whined.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to have fun in the snow in the first place? Why are you whining now?"

"Cos it's too cold and you're too heavy and I'm hungry!"

"You're also the one who insisted we skip breakfast."

"Come on, sadist, get off me and let me go raid the kitchen."

"Nah, don't feel like it."

"Get off."

"No."

"Get off!"

"No."

"GET OFF, YOU JERKFACE!" Kagura finally snapped, wrenched her right leg free and kneed him, full force, in his side. A sickening crack echoed in the air as he hit the ground.

They both laid still, Kagura frozen in shock for letting her truly violent side slightly slip past her guard, and Sougo gasping in pain and holding his side.

"China," he practically growled.

Kagura flinched at his menacing tone.

"Thanks to you I'm going to spend another month in bed. As punishment I order you to spend every waking moment as my servant for as long as it takes for my ribs to heal again."

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><p><strong>Yeah, it's back to the master-servant setting from chapter 4. This time I think Sougo won't be as nice, though...<strong>

**Learning from experience, I won't be promising a faster update. You should know by now that I wouldn't be keeping such a promise anyway...**

**Still, I hope you enjoyed this brief chapter that was painfully squeezed out of my dying brain! ^.^**

~**poakkis**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm FINALLY back! I'm terribly sorry for taking months to update, I get these slumps from time to time, plus this spring has been very stressful with work, graduating and applying for university, so please forgive me! :begging on my knees:  
><strong>

**Now, about this chapter: I know people were looking forward to more action and development, but once I tried to get started, nothing publishable came out. I had once again written myself into a dead end (this happened with START!, and I eventually abandoned it) with seemingly no way out. This kind of thing happens because I write rather whimsically and never plan my moves carefully enough. BUT, since I've vowed to never abandon another fic again, I eventually scrapped this together in a pathetic attempt to salvage the situation. I know, I screwed up, so once again, please forgive me. :begging on my knees:  
><strong>

**I've felt so happy, guilty and giddy for how many people reviewed in my absence! A HUGE thank you, hug and muffin to: _ayaka chi, arkee, Koatan, little101, Neil_**_ (_Rambling is fun, plus it makes you more human. The snow fight actually was heavily influenced by said episode xD Yup, they're responsible for their own actions, and since both were wrong, both should suffer. Much of that suffering is left behind the scenes, sadly...Kamui is an enigma, his thoughts are incomprehensible and his actions seemingly illogical. I have no idea whether his plan, if he has one, is going along smoothly or not...we shall see! Well, this chapter is both late and rubbish, so...)_**, Alice Peaches (sorry for writing your name wrong, ff is at war with my computer), Kimchi**_ (I'm so glad, a ghost reader reviewed! I'm usually a ghost reader myself, so no offense meant. Yeah, I'm always searching for those hilarious moments these two get in the show xD And honestly, I think a blatant love story among the main characters would ruin Gintama...it's much more fun with few hints but no facts. Hehe, no need to be embarrassed, I've experienced runaway reviews, too! Now I feel like a drug dealer all over again for getting someone hooked xDD I'm not sure if you need me, but I'm happy to know how you appreciate my writing!)_**, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, Ayjah, , Shinichi's Lover, Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, domo-chi **_(a hero...? :blush: I'm no such thing, but thank you! And, once again, I take no offense about grammar mistakes in my lovable readers' reviews, so don't worry about that ^.^ Your review was really cute and had me smiling like this :))_**, Namie Amalia, yiseunggi, Diclonius57, AnimeFreakster13 **_(I'm honored you consider this your first favorite fic! Hehe, don't worry, there will be more chapters, maybe even past 15 ^.~)_**, Zubatattack, kisakasama, RoseFriendships**_(glad I could make you laugh ^.^ and sorry for the long wait...)_**, PyroMeoba, OrangeStrawberries, DENTEDILEONE **_(thank you so much, and sorry you had to wait so long...)_**, tufi, Litari Kisaru, Rosesinthenight **_(the best? Wow, thanks! I've actually thought about using a similar idea, but then I realized that it would probably lead to another dead end for me, so I decided to pass that. Still, thanks for offering an idea!)**_, Omo_** (aww, thank you! If you keep reading my fics, though, you'd better get used to long waits, since I'm not efficient at all...)_**, Yatogirl **_(You give me too much credit, there are tons of authors here far better than me. Still, thank you very much for the compliment! I shall do my best to instill as much violent love as possible in the future ^.^)_**, anon **_(wow, I'm honored you consider this good enough to make a leap from Naruto to here!)_** and mazzal. **_**I love you guys, you really helped me through my slump with your positive and energetic words! Really, thank you T.T**

**Now, I'll let you read and hopefully, at least a little tiny bit, enjoy the new chapter. Again, I am very sorry for the skydiving quality. :begging on my knees:  
><strong>

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><p><strong>No one likes people who complain about everything<strong>

"It's cold, get more firewood."

"My pillows are wrong, rearrange them."

"I'm bored, get me a book." ... "Are you blind or can't you read? This is part two, I wanted part one. Go and get the right book, stupid."

"I don't like this food, go and get me something else."

"My nails are too long, cut and file them."

"I don't like that bun, change your hairstyle."

"This water isn't cold enough, take it away and get me a new drink."

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Kagura screamed in blind fury and threw the glass into the kitchen wall. It shattered into hundreds of pieces that flew everywhere, causing the staff to scream in surprise and panic.

A young man with glasses turned to the mad woman wearing a maid's uniform, a shard stuck on his forehead. "THAT WAS DANGEROUS, DUMBASS!"

Kagura glared at him heatedly, grabbed a nearby knife and threw it at his head. He barely avoided it by ducking at the last second. "I. Don't. Fucking. Give. A. Shit. I'm sick and tired of that sadistic egoistical jerk's complaining! He makes it look like _every single thing _in his life is wrong and I'm supposed to fix everything! Plus, it's already been FIVE WEEKS! I know for a fact that he's already healed! He's just pretending so he can satisfy his perverse sense of humor!" Kagura ranted, snapping cutting boards in half as she grew more and more irritated.

Shinpachi, the man with glasses, sighed tiredly and resumed preparing vegetables for dinner next to the royal fiancée. "His Majesty is rather peculiar, we know it all too well, but the fact that he hasn't killed you yet speaks volumes."

Kagura threw an annoyed glance at him. "You're still going on about how that jerk 'cares about me but doesn't know how to show it'? Stop, right now. This engagement is only for appearances and political reasons. There are no mutual feelings of that sort..." Kagura mumbled the last bit so that the people around the two wouldn't hear her. She had kept her tender feelings for her fiancé top secret, having confided in only Shinpachi. He was the only one she knew who could keep a secret.

The thought that she was absolutely terrible at hiding said feelings had never occurred to her, thus she was blissfully oblivious to the fact that practically everyone but the object of her affections knew of them. So, in reality, they weren't top secret at all.

Shinpachi glanced at her from the corner of his eye before turning his gaze back to the carrots he was currently peeling. "I still think you're being too pessimistic about that. Everyone who sees you two together can see it, but you're too dense to see it yourselves. Anyway, did you come here for a reason?" he asked, noticing how she was growing more and more depressed despite his words.

Kagura snapped out of her dark thoughts at his question. "Yes. His Royal Pain In The Ass wasn't satisfied with the water's temperature, so he sent me to get him a new one. Apparently it has to be freezing cold to satisfy him," she growled, her annoyance coming back.

Shinpachi glanced around and spoke in low tones. "You didn't hear this from me, but I have an idea for a little revenge..."

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><p>"Kagura-chan!"<p>

Kagura turned to face the woman who had called her name. She grinned. "Hi, Otae! What's up?"

Otae smiled a little and sighed. "His Majesty is rather sour and sent me to find you. He demands to know how hard it can be to get a glass of cold water since you've been gone for an hour already."

Kagura's grin widened. "I found a way to keep the water cold enough for His Pompous Highness' taste. It took some time to prepare but, as you can see, his drink is definitely cold."

Otae leaned closer to the glass in Kagura's hands. "Where did you get the ice?"

"A reliable source of information."

"That's too vague..."

"Too bad," Kagura laughed and continued on her way. "His Bratty Majesty is about to get his cold water, I'll make sure of it."

Otae looked at Kagura's retreating form and wiped her eyes theatrically. "I'm so proud of her."

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><p>Kagura strolled into their bedroom, completely ignoring the annoyed glare her fiancé was sending her. "I have returned with your water, Your Majesty Jerkface the First," she passively announced.<p>

Sougo's glare intensified. "You're amazingly incompetent if fetching a glass of water takes you over an hour," he snapped.

Kagura lifted an eyebrow challengingly. "Then maybe you should've gotten it yourself. I've seen you sneak out of bed and roam the palace for weeks now, so surely a trip to the kitchen wouldn't be too much for your frail body." _'Honestly, what do I see in this selfish, bratty sadist?' _Kagura wondered.

Knowing he was caught and couldn't retort, Sougo dropped the subject. "Give me the water and fetch more firewood, it's getting cold in here again."

Kagura set the glass on his bedside table and left the room. Instead of closing the door and going to get the firewood, she turned to spy on him through the slightly open door. She was soon rewarded for her efforts as Sougo took a mouthful of the icy water. His face and the indignant, strangled sound he let out as the freezing liquid assaulted his mouth was enough to keep Kagura happy for the rest of the day.

She basked in her victory even more as she saw that Sougo had left the sickbed the next day.

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><p>"Hey sis," Shinpachi started as he and his sister were carting dinner to the dining hall, "how long do you think those two will stay ignorant of each others feelings?"<p>

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity, Shin-chan," Otae answered with a smile ("Umm, I didn't ask about their intelligence, I was asking about their denseness..."). "But we shouldn't overestimate it, either. In my opinion, they need another, even bigger threat to move forward in their relationship. That delusional cousin was actually rather pitiful."

"Harsh..." Shinpachi muttered under his breath. "So what you're saying is that they need a third wheel that actually is a threat?"

"Not necessarily a third wheel, just something to force them to realize and admit that, in their own way, they're already head over heels in love. By the way, Shin-chan, why do you have glass stuck on your forehead?"

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><p><strong>So, that's it. Yes, it really was that short and pathetic. Forgive me :begging on my knees:<strong>

**After this chapter is a notice that I, as well, would like everyone to read and sign, if possible. So it is NOT A NEW CHAPTER yet. I'll start working on the next chapter asap but, as usual, don't get your hopes up too high with me.  
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**Thank you very much!  
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**~poakkis  
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**...I did a lot of begging this time...  
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><p><strong>PS. I'll put the petition under this chapter, since it is against the guidelines as a stand-alone. Thanks to Storm of FoxClan for pointing that out for me, I didn't realize it myself...-.-"<br>**

**Attention All Readers, Reviewers, and Authors!**

The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think that's stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be loosing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

Psudocode_Samurai

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Agato the Venom Host

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Hisea Ori

The Dark Graven

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blood enraged

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Crepe-lover

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awesome-sadist

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><p><strong>ATTENTION! <em>Crepe-lover <em>was kind enough to inform me of another petition, it's more official so everyone please sign that as well! - **petitions/fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net#**  
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**I don't write lemons myself, but I've read a lot of amazing fics that are rated M for one or two scenes that aren't even written as senseless porn/violence. It would be a waste to never be able to read them again.**

**~poakkis**

****PS. I apologize to those who have this story on story alert, since I need to re-upload this notice to add the names of some who don't have stories themselves.**  
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	13. Chapter 13

**Hi everyone! I hope you had a good time welcoming the new year!  
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**First and foremost, I must apologize to you all. I haven't updated in almost seven months which, even for me, is a long time. I moved away from home halfway across the country and started university, and this autumn's been pure hell at times. I had a couple of complete breakdowns during the night and the stress has been simply too much to even think about writing. I have my reasons, but I would still like to apologize. I'm sorry.  
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**Secondly, I want to thank you. Your support has been amazing, and I was honestly close to tears when I saw that I'd gotten over 200 reviews and 99 favs. Truly, thank you: _dentedileone, ElleinadOtaku0w0, rosesinthenight, strwbrie, kurasuchi, marilu_ (**unfortunately I don't understand your language, but I'm taking a guess and say that you like this fic and want more romance soon? Anyway, thank you for reviewing, it's nice to know people from many different places enjoy reading my story ^.^_**),**_ _**mazzal, Neil**_** (**indeed, those two are a very dangerous combination. Unfortunately Otae doesn't get a very big part in this fic, since this is mostly centered around the main couple and their siblings, but at least she got to appear! The quote you liked so much is just something I found quite some time ago on the Internet, but I must say I'm also quite fond of it. Sorry you had to wait so long, thank you for reviewing again! ^.^**_),_** _**Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin, domo-chi**_** (**never again shall I abandon a fic, fear not! It might take me years (hopefully not...) but I will write this one all the way to the "the end"! Your reviews are always so lively I can't help smiling ^.^ The answer to your question is very late, and I'm sorry for that, but the ice came from Shinpachi. After he said he had an idea for a little revenge, he showed Kagura the cellar where they keep ice and things that need to say cooled. Kagura then took some ice to keep the drink freezing cold. The glass in Shinpachi's forehead is from when Kagura threw the glass into the wall. Shinpachi got a shard stuck in his forehead and forgot to pull it out. Sorry if my storytelling confuses you at times, I'll try to work on it. Thank you for reviewing ^.^_**), little101, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, LeChatDit, tufi, OrangeStrawberries, Zubatattack, arkee, Crepe-lover, Shinichi's Lover, Sell Chan, awesome-sadist, Hachibukai, blueberry761, lulu.c1t4, Erigay, Mrs. Okita Sougo**_** (**I'm so sorry you had to wait so long! Still, thank you for reviewing!**_), Anonymous_ (**Thank you so much! I'll try to keep up with the expectations. Thank you for reviewing ^.^_**), LoveMadness, Daniloveswriting **_**and _VenVen_! I probably wouldn't have been able to pull myself together in order to write more if you hadn't given me so much love and kind words. Really, thank you. This unworthy writer - who honestly doesn't deserve such devoted readers - is eternally grateful for your support.**

**This chapter doesn't tie well with the previous one, but I couldn't figure out a smooth transition so this is what I have to offer. It's another confusing time-skip, but please bear with me. I'm not very good at keeping things in order... Anyway, this chapter might upset some of you, but the drama won't last long, mostly because I want to keep this fic more lighthearted than the one I'm probably taking as my next project after this is finished.  
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**I hope at least some of you are willing to forgive me, read this and maybe even leave a review. You're probably pissed off at me, but please remember that I have my reasons (listed above) if you do review. Flames will only make me lose interest in writing.  
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**...I was far too serious this time, wasn't I? -.-"  
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**Please enjoy the long-awaited new chapter! ^.^  
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><p><strong>Friends are important but family comes first<strong>

"Oh, this will be great! I get to see everyone again! It's been way too long," Kagura cheered and was practically bouncing in her seat in the back of their car.

Sougo, who sat on her left side, was far less excited. "Oh yes, this is going to be the best cocktail party ever. I get to meet your entire bizarrely obsessed clan at once, oh joy," he dryly commented, stubbornly facing away from her and looking out of the window.

Kagura lightly swatted his arm and gave him a frustrated look. "Would you stop that already! And it isn't a cocktail party, it's to celebrate the Yato clan's 300th anniversary, so it's really important. You'd best behave and not embarrass me," she snapped at him.

"Me, embarrass you? That's my line and you know it, China."

"What did you say, you -!"

"Besides," Sougo continued, easily ignoring and cutting into Kagura's outburst "why am I invited if it's your clan's anniversary? You're the one who's entering my family."

Kaura blushed lightly but kept her glare. "Because," she started condescendingly, making his brow twitch in annoyance. "you and I are engaged, have been for several months now, yet you've never been properly introduced to my family. Sure, they're always scattered around so we've never really had much of a chance to, but now we do. Most of them don't give a flying donkey's crap about such things but there are some purists who are rather picky about partners. They want to make sure there's no _dirty blood _in the family tree."

"That pathetic, brainless cousin of yours is one of them, isn't he?" Sougo asked with a sideways glance at her, his voice dripping with poorly hidden acid.

Kagura was surprised by his tone, but nodded nonetheless. "Yes he is, but then again so is his mother. She's even worse, she's like the head of the purist faction," she explained, forgetting her earlier frustration with her fiancé. Well, it was always like that, first they're fighting about something completely unimportant and the next second they're chatting about something equally unimportant.

It might've been Kagura's imagination, or the dim lighting in the car, but Sougo's eyes seemed to darken suddenly. "He'll be at the party, won't he?" he asked, his right hand in a fist.

Kagura frowned at the change in him. "Of course, all of the Yato are required to attend, no exceptions," she warily answered and looked down at his fist. "You're not going to start a fight, are you?" she asked nervously. "I know you don't exactly like each other and you have a little conflict going on after that stupid ass duel, but this night's really really _really _important and -"

"I won't," Sougo answered, trying to get his growing annoyance under control. _'She doesn't understand anything, does she? Clueless, un-cute, stupid China… ' _"Unless he gives me a reason to," he muttered darkly under his breath, making sure Kagura wouldn't hear.

Kagura grinned, relieved. "Well, that's okay then. Oh look, we're here!" she suddenly exclaimed and pointed forward.

Sougo turned his gaze forward and looked at the brightly lit mansion. The Yato mansion was known for its sturdy structure, making it more of a fortress than a noble's mansion. It was quite an imposing structure and a lesser man would've gotten cold feet just looking at it, not to mention imagining the clan that resided inside. Sougo wasn't all that worried, though. He had survived years of knowing the head and his son, almost a year's engagement to the head's daughter and a highly risky duel with his fiancées cousin. He could handle a few more with ease.

They pulled over in front of the entrance and the driver stepped out to open the door for Sougo. The next step should've been for the driver to open Kagura's door and Sougo to help her out but, forgetting all etiquette – and growing far too impatient at Sougo's deliberate slow walking – she threw her door open and jumped out on her own. Or tried to. Otae must've been harassed by the gorilla guard again because she did the most sadistic dress-choice ever: a deep red dress with a tight bodice and – Kagura's worst nightmare – a train. As you might have already guessed, her intended smooth exit from the car ended up with her nearly crashing face first into the gravel. Her face was saved by her ever-smiling big brother at the last moment.

"Why would they give you such a dress when you have trouble walking in a straight line even in pants?" Kamui asked, awfully amused by his sister's predicament.

Kagura glared up at her brother and straightened up, finally getting her feet properly under her. "The maid in charge was feeling murderous today. How many have already arrived?"

"Some, I think a lot of them are coming after midnight. This winter's been busy for everyone," Kamui answered with a shrug. "If you want to see grandma Kaguya before she goes to sleep, you'd better hurry up."

"Grandma Kaguya's already here?!" Kagura squealed and rushed off towards the doors.

Sougo, who had been giving directions to their driver, turned just in time to see a flash of red as Kagura's train disappeared through the doorway. He lifted a brow at Kamui, who smiled serenely back.

"I'll just let you know right now that at Yato parties no one is ever announced. People just come and go as they please, and any outsiders are beaten to the brink of death and fed to the dogs," Kamui explained cheerfully. "We don't get many party-crashers nowadays."

"Shocking," Sougo said sarcastically and started on his way to the party. Kamui matched his walking speed and walked next to him.

"How are things with Kagura?" Kamui asked in a manner that people usually used when they talked about the weather.

Sougo glanced at him briefly. "Not bad but not good either," he answered, clearly not wanting to elaborate.

Too bad, Kamui didn't care what he wanted. "That's not an answer and you know it. C'mon, we never get to speak in private!"

"And I'm already missing that," Sougo said with his passive voice.

Kamui, instead of getting offended, cracked open his eyelids and gave a pleased grin which, considering it's Kamui, looked quite feral. "And when do I get to call you brother?" he asked, referring to the wedding.

"Haven't discussed it," Sougo answered, wanting nothing more than to escape from this annoying pest. He could never be sure about what was going on in Kamui's head and he didn't like not knowing.

Kamui's eyes flashed a little. "Hmm, I see," he hummed, but Sougo had no idea what he meant. "You know, making them wait is like trying to empty an ocean with a bucket: it might seem like a good idea at first but it's doomed to fail in the end."

"It's a stupid idea to begin with," Sougo retorted, not really understanding what Kamui meant with his odd metaphor. The redhead just grinned and waved to some people, steering Sougo towards them. Sougo could see Kagura among them, and when she noticed them she speed walked to them and took his hand, grinning from ear to ear. Sougo could only steel his nerves and prepare himself for the upcoming introductions.

* * *

><p>Kagura hadn't been happier in months. She was positively radiant as she exchanged news with her relatives. Everyone was always on the move, some even in far-away countries, so they hardly ever got together like this. Mostly everyone had congratulated her and Sougo on their engagement and, after a little bit of grilling, had accepted Sougo into their midst. But, as Kagura had suspected, her aunt Akira had given them a disgusted look and ignored them since then. Kagura told Sougo to remind her to "slug the old cow" as soon as the party was officially over.<p>

"Kagura-chan, my darling daughter, how have you been?"

Kagura turned to beam at her father and ran over to give him a hug. Well, he had to actually catch her since she managed to trip over her dress for the 47th time that evening.

"Papi! I'm so happy to see you! Your arm isn't acting up in the cold, is it?" she asked as she pulled back to inspect her father's prosthetic left arm.

Umibouzu smiled at her concern and flexed his left arm for show. "Not at all. I'm in perfect shape!" he boasted.

"Except for your head."

Umibouzu deflated. "Mmust you be so cruel, my dear?"

Kagura grinned. She hadn't gotten a chance to see her father in weeks, either, since he had been on a mission.

Umibouzu recovered and smiled at his daughter. "And you? Are you happy?" he asked, giving her a meaningful look.

Kagura blushed and averted her eyes. "Well, I guess. I've gotten used to my new life at the palace and he people are nice enough," she said, avoiding her father's probing gaze. She knew she wasn't giving him the answer he wanted.

"And your relationship with His Highness?"

Kagura swallowed and, much to her annoyance, blushed harder. "Working on it…I guess," she mumbled.

Umibouzu's gaze softened. He could see it, if only because Kagura shared so many traits with his late wife: his daughter had fallen in love. It was questionable how deep that love was and how much of it she understood, but it was a fact that Kagura, his rash, violent, crude yet loyal, sweet and protective daughter was in love with a man. And by the rumors he had managed to catch it seemed like those feelings were more or less mutual. Even if the mere thought of it made his blood boil, he knew that it was for the best. His daughter deserved to be happy.

"Papi? What's wrong?" Kagura asked nervously, quite obviously worried by her father's long silence.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Where is His Highness, by the way? Didn't he come with you?"

Kagura gestured to the other side of the room where a group of people was throwing knives at moving targets. "Haku and Chika dragged him over there to have some male bonding."

"I see, that's great. And Kyo hasn't given you any trouble?" Umibouzu knew about the restriction order his nephew had been given, and while he doubted Kyo would be stupid enough to anger the crown prince, Umibouzu had to make sure.

Kagura frowned at that. "No, he hasn't even greeted me since the fight. Every time I see him he runs away as if I have some sort of disease. I wonder why," she said. She was actually pretty hurt by that, even if she despised him for handling her like a possession and almost killing her fiancé.

"That's obviously because your darling fiancé would torture him to death if he found out Kyo had any kind of contact with you…" Umibouzu mumbled darkly.

"What? I can't hear you," Kagura frowned.

Umibouzu smiled a little. "No, it was nothing. Now then, why don't we try dancing for a little bit? I heard you had finally learned waltz!"

* * *

><p>Sougo sighed heavily as he slumped down into a relatively isolate chair. He had been clearly informed that no one present gave a damn about how he acted, in fact, the more laid-back the better. This suited him just fine, since he didn't have the energy to play polite and courteous. He had to admit that while it was rather interesting and actually quite fun to engage in killing sports with Kagura's relatives, they were a bit too much all at once. He was exhausted.<p>

Sougo scanned the room with his eyes and soon enough spotted Kagura stumbling on the dance floor with her father. The corner of his lips twitched up at her obvious enjoyment of dancing with her father, even if she kept stepping on her train. Her grin was wide enough to show her teeth and he could swear her eyes were sparkling. It was a very pleasing sight, indeed.

"She's radiant, isn't she?"

The unexpected female voice snapped Sougo's gaze from one redhead to another. The unfamiliar woman in front of him had shoulder-length hair the exact same shade as his fiancée's, but had more curves and held the kind of elegance Kagura could only dream of achieving. Sougo, however, could see the sly, calculating look in her dull green eyes as she looked at the dancers, most likely focusing on Kagura. _'Like a fox,' _he thought warily.

"If you are referring to my fiancée then yes, I must agree with you," he answered, switching to his court mode. Polite, distant, guarded.

The woman smiled coyly. "Of course I was talking about her. She's the unrefined gem of the clan and her father's treasure. It was quite a shock to everyone when she was married off so suddenly, not to mention out of the family."

"You think me unworthy of her, then?"

"Oh no, I think quite the opposite, Your Highness. My cousin's daughter has started to finally bloom under your care, and I believe it is thanks to the engagement."

Sougo looked at her doubtfully. "I don't exactly agree with you on that, but thank you for the acceptance. Pardon me, but did you say your cousin's daughter?"

She finally turned her gaze to him, her eyes unreadable but smile kind. Sougo didn't trust her one bit. "Yes, I did. Her mother was my cousin, though I'm closer to her children's age. Don't look so doubting, there are crazier things than big age differences between cousins in our clan," she laughed softly.

"That, I can believe."

She shook her head amusedly. "Where are my manners, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Sakuya," she introduced herself and curtsied.

"Pleased to meet you," Sougo answered with a nod of his head. She was suspicious, in more ways than one, and Sougo didn't like how her eyes looked at him: assessing, calculating, like she could somehow see inside his head.

Sakuya laughed again. "Oh please, don't be so guarded. I wouldn't dare try anything on you and if I did, a certain someone would have my head. I'm also already taken, so don't misunderstand my natural way of communicating for anything it's not. That has happened in the past, unfortunately," she said in good humor.

Sougo was spared from answering by a quickly approaching red figure. The obvious shift in his focus caused Sakuya to also turn around and face the fiercely glaring Kagura.

Sakuya smiled kindly. "Oh my, look at how you've grown, little Kagura!"

Kagura didn't stop until she was standing next to where Sougo was seated, and Sougo was surprised by the way she almost blocked him from Sakuya. Kagura was still glaring, and her voice held venom. "And you haven't changed at all, Sakuya. It was nice seeing you too, but now you'll have to excuse us," Kagura said and bent to grab Sougo's left arm. "My fiancé has promised me a dance," she snapped and started dragging said fiancé away from Sakuya who looked, confusingly, amused.

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><p>'<em>How dare she!' <em>Kagura seethed as she pulled Sougo along. _'How dare she get all comfy with __**my **__fiancé!' _

Kagura had been happily dancing with her father when she noticed Sakuya talking with Sougo. Sakuya had had _that _look in her eyes again, and all the smiling and dainty laughing had made Kagura's blood boil. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, left her father and stomped angrily over to the two. _'And why was he talking with her anyway? Even if he __doesn't like me he could at least stay faithful!'_

"China, my hand's going numb from your grip on my arm," Sougo suddenly pointed out.

Kagura gave him a nasty look and one last painful squeeze before swinging his arm away from her. As he nursed his hand and tried to get the circulation working, Kagura crossed her arms angrily and glared at him. "Well?" she snapped at him.

Sougo looked puzzled at her. "What?" he asked with a slight frown.

"How was your talk with dear old Sakuya? So sorry to have interrupted, seemed like you were having a good time, too," she venomously sniped at him. She was lashing out at him for some strange reason she couldn't understand. She just felt so angry.

Now Sougo was fully scowling at her. "Why are you so angry at me when I've done nothing wrong? You're always like this, yelling at me for something as unreasonable as talking with someone you apparently don't like." He was getting angry, too. Kagura knew she should calm down, or at least not fight it out with Sougo in the middle of her relatives, but her mind was so messed up and all she could focus on was the feeling of anger and something else that kept crushing her chest and twisting her stomach painfully.

"She's a bloody vixen, everyone knows it! And there you were, joking and talking and doing god knows what else with that hateful bitch when all you ever do with me is call me names and fight and argue! Sorry I'm not beautiful or big-chested or smart or whatever enough! I hate you!" she ranted, furiously wiping her eyes to keep angry tears at bay. She didn't even know what she was saying anymore, she was just blurting out whatever her jumbled mind conjured.

She finally got her eyes clear enough to see Sougo's reaction, which normally would've had her rolling with laughter but now simply made her heart ache. He was staring at her, wide-eyed and speechless, completely frozen. And Kagura hated herself for allowing her mouth to blurt out those things, those unintended harsh insults, her insecurities, and the opposite of what she really wanted to say. But it was too late to take it back. He wouldn't believe it to be a joke, either.

She had messed up big time.

Everyone around them was quiet, which only made the sudden bang of the opening front door all the more ominous. A palace servant rushed in, looking around desperately.

"Is His Highness in here?!" he finally yelled.

The crowd parted to show the engaged couple, still facing each other. Kagura had bowed her head, trying to hide her tears and humiliation from everyone, especially the man in front of her. Sougo seemed to snap out of it and, after a hesitant look at Kagura, turned to the servant. The servant didn't seem to even notice the tense atmosphere he had barged into and continued his panicked yelling.

"Your Highness! You must return at once, you are needed by Her Highness Mitsuba's side!" he desperately explained. "She has collapsed!"

The shocked silence instantly broke into heated conversations and exclamations of shock. Kagura didn't need to look up to know that Sougo had already bolted out of the room, leaving her behind without hesitation. Her chest hurt terribly as she choked out a broken sob and fled into a hidden room, unnoticed in the sudden confusion and flurry of action.

Kagura curled into a tight ball in the small space. The evening she had looked forward to turned out to be a nightmare come to life. She had completely embarrassed herself in front of her whole family, ruined her relationship with her fiancé and now she had heard that Mitsuba, her sweet, loving and understanding future sister-in-law, had collapsed, and by the sound of it, it was serious. Mitsuba had said at Kagura's birthday ball that her condition had worsened. What if it was fatal? Kagura let out a pained whimper at the thought and curled up tighter, her tears smearing make up over her cheeks.

Someone entered her hidden room swiftly, a burst of light followed by complete darkness again. Kagura looked up in surprise and was even more surprised at the sight of her brother's silhouette in the dark right in front of her. She quickly buried her face into her knees again, refusing to acknowledge his presence.

She could feel him sit down next to her silently. She tried to reign in her tears and sobs, hating to know her brother could see her crying like this.

"He really left without you," he softly murmured. His somber tone startled Kagura enough to make her look up at him. He was looking thoughtfully at his hands, leisurely propped up on his bent knees.

"First he couldn't respond to your words and then he just leaves you crying there and rushes off. What a disappointment," he continued.

"But it's his sister! She's collapsed and could d-d-d-" _die._ Kagura couldn't finish her sentence when a new wave of tears burst forward.

Kamui didn't answer. They sat in silence for a long while before Kagura couldn't take it anymore. She had to speak, even if the one listening was her heartless big brother.

"I hate it. Why am I the only one who gets like this? Why am I the only one hurting?" she choked on her words before painfully sobbing out. "Why am I the only one in love?!"

Kamui didn't answer anything. He just wrapped an arm around her shoulders and sat there, listening to her crying.

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><p><strong>Please don't kill me.<strong>

**~poakkis  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, remember me? Been a long time, hasn't it? Finally the next chapter is here! I can only hope that it answers your expectations, and if it doesn't you are free to leave constructive criticism.**

**...somehow I suddenly have no idea what to say here after so long ^.^"**

**This story has gotten so much love, the feelings are overflowing! I couldn't believe my eyes when I last checked the numbers of reviews, faves and follows! I can't even begin to express how thankful I am to you, who have stuck around or come across this more recently, but truly, thank you so much for your support. The usual special round of heartfelt thank yous to my beloved reviewers:  
>Dente-di-leone, Nunnally-Chan, kurasuchi, wasabi cake, Anonymous <strong>(thank you so much, and sorry you had to wait so long), **Anne **(thank you for the reviews, even if they did take me by surprise. As to your question, on paper I'm Christian but personally an agnostic. I honestly still don't understand why you told me not to curse God, since I have no memory of doing that, but peace to you as well), **beautisanimperfection, Daniloveswriting, Yu Kohaku, VenVen, Kimchi **(thank you so much, I remember being so relieved that I made it in time with my last update when I first read your review. I don't know if you still follow my story, but I'd like you to know how much it meant - and still means - to receive your honest and warm review), **kawaiinekochan16, awesome-sadist, FireGemini, hvan, HeheSmile, Nejitenfureva **(oh my, it's an honour to have someone whose favorite shipping isn't even in the same anime to like my story to that extent. I hope you found the countless better fics out there enough to keep your withdrawals at bay, and no spoilers ^.~), **Cm001, Colorless **(yeah, sorry for the cliffie, couldn't help it...thank you so much for the compliments, sorry you had to wait so long), **ChibiHyouka, KidTantei, CherryBlossomGirl22, Blue Bubble Sea, aikoojamajo** (ahh, I remember what it was like being all new to the site. Thanks for reviewing now that you're familiar with it! I can say now that there won't be anything more than a sibling relationship there, but I wouldn't say that you're completely off-base, either...), **Dimensional Roamer, cocoaspaces, Crimsonpoop **(...please don't kill me, you'd never find out the rest if you did...and I sincerely hope that you're still alive, as well. Thank you so much for the overflowing praise, I seriously don't deserve it! Awesome nick, btw), **Kelly, **(thank you so much! Mmm, well, Kamui is, you know...not really the bad guy but definitely not a good guy either. More like he's all over the place yet not really there at all. I can't really reveal anything here, since I'd probably end up spoiling. Honestly speaking, even I don't know how to handle him, I have no idea what goes on in his head...that's not good, is it...? Oh, and please don't die, I value my readers), **Guest **(wow, you're really enthusiastic in your reviews! Thank you for the positive energy and for liking my fics), **Annie **(hehe, well, good guy or not, thanks for reviewing!), **Guest **(thank you so much! Uhh, yeah, Kamui...no idea what's going on there, honestly. He's not really good nor is he totally bad either. So, if he's just pretending or if he's actually just that...eccentric...I'll leave it to the reader's imagination. And you're probably the first one to ever say that a cliffhanger is awesome, points for that! And you're right, I haven't written the rest of the story yet...), **Guest **(...sorry, I don't think I made it for your birthday...still, thank you for reviewing!), **Blahtoyousir, Guest **(well, you could've been a bit more mature with your demand, but here is your awaited update), **terry nightstalker, rinoaterra, sha5aditto, JulieBookLover21.  
>Truly, thank you. Without your reviews and constant support I would've never made it this far. Thank you.<br>**

**I think I've done enough explaining for the long absence, so I won't bother you with another longass explanation here. Those who are curious or not informed, feel free to visit my profile.**

**And now, please enjoy the new chapter!**

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><p><strong>Don't hide things from your spouse, things tend to get complicated when you do<strong>

After spending the night at the Yato mansion, Kagura didn't want to return to the palace. She didn't want to see Sougo's face after what happened during the party, but she knew she had no choice. The palace was her home now, she would eventually have to return.

Almost everyone was still asleep or already gone when it was time for Kagura to go. Surprisingly, Kamui had woken up to see her off with Umibouzu. Kagura hugged her father tightly for support before turning to her brother. He looked the same as always, smiling with his eyes closed.

"Thanks for last night, I guess," Kagura muttered, averting her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but having Kamui with her had felt reassuring.

Kamui tilted his head slightly. "Don't mention it, even if you suck you're still my little sis. Brother's responsibilities and all that, you know."

Kagura snorted. "Yeah, whatever. I'm off, then." With one last wave she walked towards the awaiting car.

"It'll be okay," Kamui called after her, making her turn to look at him in surprise. "In the end, you'll be happy."

Kagura blinked at him before smiling ruefully. "That'd be nice."

Car doors slammed close and she was on her way to face the gloomy atmosphere of the palace and worse, her fiancé.

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><p>Hijikata looked at the young man sitting next to Mitsuba's bed. He hadn't slept a wink nor eaten anything since he had barged into the room last night. Alone. Hijikata still couldn't believe the idiot had returned alone, leaving the redhead royal fiancée behind.<p>

_Flashback_

_Hijikata looked at his wife's prone form on the bed. They had been on an evening stroll outside when she had suddenly started coughing and fainted soon after. At first he had frozen in shock but had carried her back inside and ordered for a doctor to arrive immediately merely seconds later. He had also sent a servant to fetch Sougo and Kagura from the Yato mansion, since Sougo was very adamant about being by his sister's side at times like these. _

_The doctor was still in the middle of his examination when the bedroom door burst open. They turned to see who it was only to see a panicked Sougo. He was breathing heavily, so Hijikata assumed he had sprinted at full speed from the car. _

"_How is she?" he asked, not bothering to address them in any way._

"_I'm still examining, Your Highness. I would like some peace and quiet to ensure I make no mistakes," the old doctor calmly replied, having been through this many times before during his career._

"_Let's go outside, Sougo. The doctor needs space," Hijikata said and steered the worried young man to the other side of the door. With the door closed, Hijikata took a look around. "Where's your fiancée? Didn't she come with you?"_

_Sougo seemed to start at that, and an odd expression twisted his face for a fraction of a second before his passive mask took over. "She's still at the party," he replied monotonously._

_Hijikata frowned at that. "She stayed behind to party with her relatives even though Mitsuba's in this state?"_

_Sougo was quiet for a second before answering. "No, I think she's annoying her relatives by crying right now."_

_The frown deepened at that and Hijikata narrowed his eyes at the back of Sougo's head. "What happened?" he asked. Well, his tone was more like that of a demand's than a question's._

"_We had a fight, she started crying, the servant came and I left her behind."_

_Hijikata honestly felt like hitting his brother-in-law at that moment. "She was already hurt by something that was definitely your fault one way or another and you ran out on her?" he managed to say through gritted teeth._

"_China's with her family, she'll be fine."_

_Hijikata just barely reigned in his urge to physically harm the dumbass. The doctor had enough work as it was. "Sougo, you're a real dumbass. If you honestly think she's going to be all smiles and sunshine when, or should I say __**if **__she comes back, you're in for a nasty surprise. You're going to have your hands full trying to get her to forgive you."_

_Before Sougo could answer, the door opened and the doctor called them back inside. He closed the doors behind them and turned to face the two. "Her sickness is advancing, as expected. She's still surprisingly healthy, so there's hope for a few more years with her. However, we can't afford to let our guard down now," he gave them a stern look. "Stress in particular is something she should avoid. Light exercise will do her good, but no strenuous activities. She should also resign from her position as the leader of this country as soon as possible to avoid mental stress. All in all, she should be kept as happy and carefree as possible. Fulfilling as many of her dreams as possible during these 2-5 years would be a good way to achieve this."_

_Hijikata glanced at Sougo. "And we know exactly what she wishes for from the bottom of her heart, don't we, Sougo?" he asked, purposefully making his voice taunting. "I told you you're going to have your hands full."_

Hijikata was pulled from his musings by a knock on the door. The brownhaired maid, Otae, carefully peeked in, her normally smiling face solemn. "Kagura-sama has returned and is asking for permission to see Her Highness," she quietly informed.

Hijikata nodded in understanding. "Tell her she's welcome to visit her now," he said and walked over to Sougo. He laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "And you, you need nutrition and rest, so you're coming with me. Mitsuba wouldn't be all too happy if you collapsed because you were watching over her."

Sougo didn't answer him. He simply stood up and started walking towards the door. Hijikata followed close behind and almost bumped into the crown prince as he stopped suddenly at the doorway. Being taller, Hijikata could see the reason: Kagura had been waiting outside, her gaze fixated on the ground. The atmosphere around the two was especially tense, and after a moment of incredibly awkward silence Sougo turned his gaze away from the young woman and started walking away from her. Not one word was said. Hijikata gave Kagura one last look of pity before going after Sougo, to make sure he didn't fall down the stairs or something in his state. Neither of them noticed when she entered Mitsuba's room, holding back her tears.

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><p>Mitsuba woke up the next day, much to everyone's relief. She would endlessly apologize for scaring everyone whenever someone came to see her, but stopped after Hijikata gave her a scolding for apologising for things she could never be blamed for. As soon as she stopped worrying about that, though, she started noticing other things. How everyone that came into the room seemed sort of on edge and had a troubled air about them, how the place had become quiet enough to hear approaching footsteps down the hall and, most importantly, how Sougo and Kagura <em><strong>never <strong>_visited her together. Individually they did, a lot, but they never even said a word about each other. If she asked, they would change the subject. Finally having had enough of mulling over the matter by herself, she decided to confront the two.

It was a downright dead end with Sougo. The instant she asked if something was wrong, he clammed up and wouldn't comment on the matter at all. He quickly excused himself and left, not meeting her eyes. Mitsuba concluded that whatever had happened, Sougo knew he had done something he knew wouldn't please her. He never told her things he knew - or even thought - would make her disappointed.

Kagura, on the other hand, cracked easily. All she had to do was ask her: "What did he do?" and Kagura told her everything. Well, at least it was her version of everything, spiced up with insults, tears and unfounded conclusions. Mitsuba understood her, love isn't an easy emotion and it tends to meddle with one's thoughts and reasoning. Afterwards Mitsuba spent quite a while comforting Kagura and assuring her that everything would be alright. Kagura only scoffed at that and sniffled: "That's what Kamui said, and his definition of 'everything's gonna be alright' includes brutally murdering someone."

It had been a little over a week since the catastrophic evening when Mitsuba confronted Sougo for the second time. It was already quite late, past dinner actually, and Mitsuba was just about to fall asleep when someone knocked on the door. Bewildered, since why on earth would her husband knock before coming to sleep, Mitsuba sleepily called: "Come in."

She was more than a little surprised to see her younger brother hesitantly enter after making sure there was no one else in the room or hallway. The look that came over his face as he closed the door was enough signal for her to understand why he had come. Not about to give him a chance to change his mind, Mitsuba opened her mouth before Sougo had even sat down.

"What happened that night?"

Sougo barely glanced at her before turning his gaze away. Slumped in his chair, he sighed in frustration and leaned his head on his hands. "At first everything was fine, but after I talked to this relative of hers, she suddenly got pissed and started yelling at me. I yelled back, we had a fight, she started crying and then the messenger came to get me. I left her there and rushed here in panic, and realised that I should've dragged her along only after I was already here and the bastard asked me about her."

Mitsuba idly noticed that his explanation was a lot shorter and less bitter than Kagura's. "So, this lady called Sakuya was the trigger to this whole thing?" she calmly asked, knowing that someone had to stay calm and rational in a situation like this.

Sougo immediately snapped his gaze up to her face. "I never said the relative was a woman, nor did I mention her name," he warily said. "She told you everything already, didn't she?"

Mitsuba blinked at him. So now he was accusing her for listening to them both and wanting to help them? Ok, no more nice sister, then. "Kagura-chan did tell me what happened, but that was just her part of the story. To understand better what happened that night, I need all the information I can get, since you two quite obviously are not going to resolve this on your own. Frankly speaking, I'm getting tired of the atmosphere around here and seeing that practically all joy in this place is gone because you two can't be mature enough to take better care of your relationship. You are like little children who think 'I'll never talk to you again' and 'I won't be friends with you anymore' is the way to solve things when what you really have to do is talk to each other and somehow make the other understand what you're feeling. The way things are is not going to make anyone happy and definitely not make me feel better, since I'm a big part of the reason you two even met."

Seeing how shocked her little brother was at her unusual scolding wasn't easy for Mitsuba, but she somehow knew those things had to be said. If all she ever did was pamper him and make it someone else's fault and problem, he wouldn't do a thing to make things better.

Softening her voice, she reached out to lay a hand on his. "I know things aren't easy for you two. You are both stubborn and don't care too much to talk about things, especially things that hurt and make you feel vulnerable. But to make a relationship work you need to trust each other and be able to see the bigger picture, not just what you yourselves feel. Just try to talk to her, okay? And remain as calm as you can, because the second you start a fight there's no way to turn the tide and you need to stop before things get worse."

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><p>Kagura couldn't sleep. It was past midnight and she couldn't sleep. The bed in the guest room she had been using since <em>that night <em>was different from the one in their room, the window gave in the wrong direction, the pillows were too soft and she was lonely.

Yes, Kagura was lonely, and it had nothing to do with the fact that the bed was too big for one person. She had gotten so used to sleeping next to Sougo, to sometimes waking up in the middle of the night to hear him talk in his sleep and to always waking up surrounded by his scent that being alone was borderline unbearable. She was lucky if she could get even three hours of sleep lately, what with everything bad and miserable just piling up and with no one to talk to. She had sent one letter to her father in one of her weak moments, but decided that she shouldn't do that again. Even if they weren't talking and would probably never make eyecontact again, Kagura still loved that sadistic prince. She didn't want him dead just yet. Maybe she would kill him herself once she was done wallowing in her brokenhearted misery.

A knock at the door almost had her jumping out of her skin in fright. _'Who would be rude enough to wake a lady at this hour?!' _Kagura internally fumed as she made to get up, ignoring the fact that she was only wearing her yellow bunny pajamas.

It both was and wasn't shocking to see Sougo on the other side. Yes, they hadn't talked for days and could barely stay in the same room, but he was also the only one braindead enough to even think of waking a Yato in the middle of the night. They stood silently at the doorway for a full minute before Kagura got over her shock and slammed the door in his face. She stiffly walked back to her bed and laid under the covers, hoping that whatever was going on was only a dream and she hadn't just had another extremely awkward moment with him at a doorway.

Her door opened almost immediately and Sougo stepped in. Kagura decided to pretend to be asleep and kept very still. "If you really think I would believe you opened that door in your sleep, then you're dumber than I thought. You're awake, China, and we need to talk."

Of course he wouldn't buy it. Kagura curled into the sheets tighter, determined to avoid facing him to the last. "There's nothing to talk about," she mumbled in response, cursing inwardly at the way she sounded like a pouting kid.

"There's plenty to talk about and you know that", Sougo retaliated and the next thing she knew, he was throwing her blanket to the other side of the room. Kagura shivered at the sudden exposure to cooler air and glared at him. "Jerk, why would you steal my blanket!? Just when it got nice and warm!"

"Now that I finally have your full attention, let's get talking. What's bothering you?"

Kagura couldn't believe it. He was actually going to have this talk now, when they were both tired, after days of avoiding each other, **in the middle of the night**? "Now that you mention it, I am very much _bothered _by this sadist that has invaded my room and is not letting me sleep. Mind doing something about it?"

Completely unfazed by her comment, Sougo continued talking. "I'm bothered by the way you're never honest and the only time you are we're fighting about something I don't even understand."

Kagura felt her anger slowly starting to boil. "I'm bothered by your stupidass neverchanging expressions," she growled.

"I'm bothered by your constant yelling."

"I'm bothered by the fact that I never have any idea what you're thinking of."

"I'm bothered by your neverending stubborness."

"I'm bothered by your insensitive jerkness."

"I'm bothered by how you're not taking this relationship seriously."

Sougo had no chance of evading when Kagura's punch sent him flying against the foot of the bed. He gingerly touched his left cheek and winced in pain. "Damn, that hurt..." One glance at his fiancée, however, was enough to make him forget about that pain.

Kagura was heaving in anger and her eyes glistened with tears. Her jaw tightened and her hands were in shaking fists. The glare she had trained on him was full of hurt and betrayal and her voice quivered as she talked. "_I'm _the one who's not serious...? _I'm _the one who's not trying...? I've tried being nice, going along with your stupidass whims, calling you by your _actual name_, and I've practically confessed my love for you, and you dare say **I'm not taking this relationship seriously!?**" The tears began rolling down her cheeks but Kagura couldn't find it in herself to give a damn at this point. "Aren't _you _the one who's not taking this seriously? Always calling me 'China' or in some other demeaning way, never making the effort to talk to me normally, not taking my feelings into account and just doing whatever the hell you want!"

There was a very awkward pause in which Sougo tried to process Kagura's words and Kagura tried to calm her breathing and stop her tears. That was a lost battle, by the way. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sougo slowly turned his gaze away and muttered: "I tried to tell you how irreplaceable you are five chapters ago. It's not my fault you can't take a hint..."

Kagura felt so tired. She didn't want to talk, her mind was going blank, she had no more energy to even stand on her own feet anymore. Sighing despairingly, she slumped and dropped on the floor. She buried her face into her hands and tiredly asked: "Why did you leave me behind?"

Sougo didn't answer her immediately. How should he explain the situation? How much did Kagura already know? How much should she know? In the end, he sighed and leaned his head back against the bed, closing his eyes tiredly. He would just go with the flow. "I wouldn't expect you to understand since you have such a huge family, but my sister is all I have left of my own. Our parents died when I was too young to even remember them, so you could say my sister is also my mother. Early on she was diagnosed with some sort of lung disease, so we always knew she wouldn't have a long life and definitely wouldn't be able to give birth. Too much for the body to handle."

Sougo took in a long breath before proceeding, needing to calm himself for the next part. "The first time she collapsed was four years ago. After that, the time she spent comatose gradually got longer with each episode, and the doctor suspected that her brain had started suffering from the malfunctioning lungs. She would sometimes cough up blood, as well. I became paranoid, knowing that she wouldn't last much longer and that the next episode might be her last, so I started to make sure I would definitely be there if something happened. The second I heard she had had an episode all I could think of was getting to her in time. There was no room for hesitation or second thoughts. The thought of dragging you with me came to me only after Hijikata asked me about your whereabouts."

He chanced a look at Kagura at that point, only to see her shocked and crying, not making any effort to wipe the tears running down her face as she stared at him. Seeing her like that caused his stomach to twist painfully, but he knew he wouldn't have any tears left to cry himself. Instead, he gave her a dreary smile. "If you can imagine a situation where the only relative you have ever known is about to die and you can't do a damn thing to help her, we might as well leave this spat behind us and start thinking of ways to make my sister happy enough to stay with us for a few more years. The doctor promised five at most."

Kagura's eyes widened at his words. "Five...?" she squeaked, horrified at the news.

"At most," Sougo clarified. "There's no guarantee she'll be around for even two," he added, and was irritated by the way his throat constricted and caused his voice to come out choked at the end.

Kagura crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly against herself. "I-I guess the wedding would be first. She's been looking forward to that," she sobbed into his neck.

He had been fine on his own. He had never needed anyone to comfort him when things got bad. Now, Sougo couldn't be more thankful for Kagura's presence as he slowly brought his own arms around her. "Yeah, that would be a good start," he murmured, painfully conscious of the way his voice wavered.

Kagura held him tighter, practically sitting in his lap as she tried to get as close as possible. "Then you'll take the responsibilities of ruling and she gets to relax all she wants."

He held her tighter as well.

"And she'll get all the nieces and nephews she can get."

He pressed his face in her hair as he felt his eyes water painfully for the first time in years.

"We'll make her so happy she has no choice but to stay with us."

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><p><strong>There! No more gloomy and depressing chapters (I hope)! I want to get back to the peaceful days...<br>**

**Thank you very much for reading!**

**~poakkis**

**PS. For those who leave a review without logging in for one reason or another, please write a name. It is hard to thank everyone who reviews when I get several reviews from "Guest" and it's quite obviously a different person almost every time. Even something like "O" or "65" will do. Thank you!**

**PPS. It's currently 3.19 AM, so please ignore spelling or grammar mistakes.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi!**

**Yup, I'm still alive. Not kicking, but still alive. Gosh, it's been way too long but I finally got back to writing! I tried to make the chapter a bit longer than usual because seriously, you guys deserve the best I can give. I don't even know what to say, you have been so amazing and supportive and patient with me even though I clearly don't deserve you people. I have the best readers right here, end of discussion. Thank you so much for reading Error and leaving reviews, sending PMs and faving! I never even dreamed that this story could become so popular! **

**And so, to the usual round of heartfelt thank yous and big hugs, all my love and respect to: _Dimensional Roamer, AliNerfetari_**_ (__yup, sometimes I just can't get to sleep so for once I did something productive. I hope you'll like this chapter as well!), **hobozrule, Master Attlon, Guest**_ (_sorry it took so long...again...hope you're still reading this, because I want to thank you for your kind words and for liking Error so much! I'll keep coming back like the flu, you'll just never know when I'll strike), **celestialdimplez, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, wasabi cake, awesome-sadist, sha5aditto **(aww, thank you so much!), **JulieBookLover21, rinoaterra, Hikari Kashiwazaki, PrincessofChina07, ariso-kun **(your review had a lot of impact, I liked it! Thank you so much and sorry I'm always so slow!), **eillen-desu, ForeverYorozuya, Johannat, LoveMadness, purlepretty **(3rd time?! Oh my, thank you so much! I'm so sorry for being slow with my updates...and you still think I'm a good author? Thank you T.T), **Fictitiouslove, AiniTomochan, Blue Bubble Sea, korin-chan14, kurosusayuri, BlueTurtle0702, terry nightstalker, kimchi **(thank you so much for still reading Error! Thank you for your kind words and for liking my writing, I try to do my best because there are readers like you out there waiting for good updates. I hope life is looking up for you now!), **O or 65** (awesome choice for a nick, kat, where did you get that? xD Your review was bursting with energy, thank you so much! I'm doing so-so, thank you for the well wishes. I hope I won't disappoint with this chapter), **Twisty Emerald, mariohno **(oh, now you're making me embarrassed with the flattery! Surely there are better writers out there, but thank you for the lovely compliment! I hope you'll like this chapter as much as the previous), **OKIKAGU SHIPPER **(so sorry it took so long (again)! Thank you so much for the overwhelming praises, I truly hope you'll like this chapter as well. I wish you good dreams and not too many awkward situations because of sudden thoughts of Error!), **Avrilayn, Panda musume **(Thank you, sorry it took so long!), **SumiEvans, Guest **(yes, I know I'm slow, but I have my reasons so please be patient with me), **espAa **(here's the next chapter, hope you'll like it!), **Ryuuta, Guest** (I sure hope that was a positive comment...?) **and Anonymous26** (yes, I know that it's been forever since the last update, but please read my ANs or my profile if you're wondering why I'm so slow. Thank you so much for liking Error and I hope the wait paid off and you'll like the update!)**.**_

**I was nearly crying when the reviews hit 300. Thank you, every single one of you, for sticking around and still reading Error!**

**I sincerely hope you'll enjoy chapter 15 of Error.**

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><p><strong>You can make plans all you want, it's a waste of time anyway<strong>

Kagura deadpanned at the object sitting innocently before her on the table. "And this is?"

Sougo leaned back in his chair and inspected his nails in an uninterested manner. "It's a sample."

"Of what?"

"The flowers for the wedding."

Kagura grabbed the first hard thing she could, which happened to be her half-full teacup, and hurled it towards her fiancé. (Un)fortunately, he managed to dodge it and didn't even get tea on his annoyingly pristine clothes. The only thing that did take damage was the porcelain teacup which shattered as it hit the opposite wall. "We're not getting black roses for the wedding! It's a wedding, not a funeral, dumbass!"

Sougo straightened up in his chair and swiped imaginary dust from his shoulders. "Black goes well with everything, so why not?"

Kagura screeched and tore at her hair in frustration. "Because it's BLACK you colorblind bat! It's dark and depressing and I'm not having that at my wedding!"

Sighing dramatically, Sougo slumped in his chair and leaned his head on his hands. "Then what do you want, princess of the spoiled China brats?"

Kagura gave him a nasty look but otherwise ignored the jibe. "Red. I want red roses."

Sougo dropped his head down and it made a small thud-sound as it hit the table. "How original, China, really. And if you say mine is dark and depressing, yours is no better. You want red to decorate the church and reception area? You really want to make it look like a blood bath, don't you."

"I'll dye the roses in your blood if you don't shut up!"

At that point, a head full of white curls appeared over the backrest of the sofa. Gintoki the sword master looked absolutely bored to death as he yawned and scratched his head. "I'll just order an array of white flowers, so no one will be happy and you'll still be tastelessly unoriginal and have an opportunity to dye the flowers in blood or piss or whatever." With that, he took his comic book and left the sitting room grumbling about indecisive brats and having no peaceful place to nap.

The couple looked at his retreating form for a long minute in silence before Kagura had to ask: "How long had he been there? And why does he get to decide when he has nothing to do with the whole wedding?"

Sougo shrugged his shoulders. "Actually, he is involved, since he's in co-charge of the security with the captain of the guard. They work surprisingly well together."

Kagura's face fell. "Tsukky's on duty? I wanted her to be in my procession!" she pouted. Which Sougo didn't think was cute. Nuh-uh, not at all.

Sougo averted his eyes from the sight. "Well, they haven't decided on the posts yet, so she might still be present at the ceremony even if she's not in the procession."

Kagura blinked in surprise. _'No insult? No brat comments? Oh god, is he actually-' _Kagura grinned wildly and almost – ALMOST – giggled in delight."Are you trying to comfort me?"

"Shut it, China," Sougo grumbled back, annoyed. He'd never been too good at things like this and now she was making fun of him. Great.

"Hmm, are you embarrassed? You are, aren't you!" Kagura gloated.

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Dee too."

"The hell does that mean?"

"Your Highness, My Lady! Are you in there? Was the tea set to your liking?"

Sougo and Kagura were startled by Otae's sudden call coming from behind the corner. Sougo's eyes widened in realization and he glanced back at the teacup lying on the carpet in pieces. He looked back at Kagura and watched in horror as she was about to answer the head maid.

"We're here, Ota-!" Kagura started but was cut off by Sougo slamming his hand over her mouth roughly. She glared at him and tried to bite his palm.

"Are you nuts? We have to get out of here!" Sougo hissed at her. He released her mouth and instead grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the second door to the sitting room, away from the approaching foot steps.

"Why? It's just Otae!" Kagura protested and tried to pull out of his hold.

"Remember that cup you smashed into the wall earlier? The crazy lady really liked that set and wanted to use it at the reception. Now that set is down one cup. Imagine what she would do to us if she found out the cup broke during one of our disagreements."

Kagura didn't need a second to think about it before she was running full speed ahead with her fiancé. Good thing too, since they had just managed to get out of sight when Otae stepped through the doorway with _that _smile on her face. Oh yes, she had heard every word.

* * *

><p>The two ran aimlessly around the palace before Sougo grabbed coats and blankets from a closet and directed them outside. Weaving their way across the gardens as unseen as possible, they finally arrived at the secluded and often unvisited Tree. The two leaned heavily on the trunk, their breaths harsh as they tried to calm down from their sprinting marathon. Sougo threw two of the blankets and one coat over to Kagura and started dressing into his own coat. While it was already early spring and the snow was almost gone, later in the day the weather could still get quite chilly.<p>

Kagura already knew what would happen next, so she spread one blanket on the ground at the foot of the tree and settled down on it with her back against the tree trunk, snuggling into the other blanket to keep herself warm. Sougo soon laid down on the spread-out blanket, wrapped up in his own, and placed his head on its usual place in her lap.

Kagura looked at Sougo curiously, wondering why the sight looked so odd, before she realized it. She'd seen it happen once before. "What, after all these daynap sessions, you actually forgot your eyemask?" she asked quite incredulously.

Sougo cracked open one eye and gave her a look. "I was prepared to work all day on the wedding plans, since we have so little time to get everything done, and didn't expect to be able to have a peaceful nap."

Kagura huffed. "Yeah right, as peaceful as it can be when we have an enraged Otae on our tails and it's still too friggin' cold to do this outside."

"Until she finds us, which will take some time, I'm going to enjoy what rest I can get. Besides," Sougo commented and let his eye close relaxedly, "I should be able to let down my guard enough around you to not need the mask all the time." He spoke nonchalantly but Kagura knew he wasn't really talking about that bizarre sleeping mask. She smiled softly and leaned her head back against the Tree to look at the still bare branches.

As her thoughts started to wander, Kagura found herself thinking yet again about their current situation. They were practically racing against time with everything, and all this rush was something Kagura had never imagined her entrance to married life to be. Not that anything about this from the very beginning had been in her childhood dreams for the future. She had always been sure that Papi would marry her off to some of her more distant cousins and she'd live a standard Yato life, birthing a couple of kids and fighting 'til her last breath. But was life kind enough to let her have that easy and predictable future? Noooo, she was thrust into an engagement of hate with a prince, fell in love along the way, had her heart broken by the sadist and was now planning a wedding after an outrageously long engagement period. It had been what, a year since the engagement party? Seriously, the engagement period was normally four months tops, and even that was usually because the church was overbooked! Sougo and Kagura didn't even have that as an excuse, since the palace had its own private church that had been on stand-by for their ceremony since their engagement was decided on. But looking at the bright side, the tabloids had been selling well with their messed up stories.

And now the wedding day was finally set in stone, two months from now. Two months and she would be married and crowned princess. Two months and she'd be tied to the sadist snoozing in her lap for the rest of her life. Well, it could be worse. She could've been married to Kyo.

Kagura shuddered at the thought of marrying her slightly deranged cousin and brought her thoughts back to the present. That particular spot under the Tree had become far too familiar, by now she could even name every tree root sticking out of the ground. There was James, Anna, Harley...

A sudden thought stopped Kagura's mental list. The Tree. Mitsuba had said something about it. What was it...some superstition?

Kagura had to quench her curiosity. She shook Sougo and even bounced her thighs up a little, jostling him awake. Sougo looked rather grumpy as he – still half asleep – scowled up at her. Kagura didn't care (when did she?) since the question was already flying out of her mouth.

"What's the deal with this Tree? Is there some special reason you want to nap here?"

Sougo blinked at her and Kagura could swear she saw a flash of recognition. However, all he did was yawn, turn over and bury his face in her stomach with a tiredly mumbled "Not really, it's peaceful here..."

Despite her rather flattering blush, Kagura was not about to give up. "That's not all! Mitsuba-san said that there was some superstition or legend or something about this place and I want to know what it is!"

"Your stomach's making weird noises, what on Earth have you eaten?"

"Don't change the subject!"

Sougo made a slightly irritated sound and snuggled more comfortably against her. "Damn it, China, can you get any more annoying? Fine, fine, there was some stupid oldwives tale about this place."

Kagura, whilst trying very hard to relax her tensed up muscles, gulped. "And?"

"I might tell you if you massage my scalp, my head hurts."

"You spoiled rich brat..." Kagura growled but lifted her left hand anyway and started lightly caressing and massaging the head on her lap. Sougo took a deep breath, content, and Kagura was surprised by how much that small action helped her relax as well. It felt really nice to do something like this for once. This was exactly what Kagura had eventually hoped to have, a peaceful moment without fighting. It was quiet for a good while before she remembered her original question. "So, what about the oldwives tale?"

"Thought I had you distracted..." came the sleepy reply.

Kagura pulled at his hair painfully, succeeding in pulling off a couple of hairs in the process. "Tell me, stupid sadist!"

"Agh, fine, alright already! Geez, what's wrong with you, woman!" Sougo sat up and rubbed at his aching scalp. "If I go bald early it's entirely your fault, you damn bitch."

Kagura crossed her arms and kneed him in the back. "Tell. Me. Now."

Sougo stood up, making sure to step hard on her leg, and stretched a bit. He then turned to her with a deadpan look.

"They say that if you let someone sleep on you here, you'll be eaten and buried by the Spirit of the Tree in two years."

As Kagura struggled to get out of the blankets while screaming curses at Sougo, he was already running for the hills.

* * *

><p>Mitsuba noticed that her very-soon-to-be-sister-in-law was rather moody when they were having their little evening tea party. Kagura had been rather quiet and overall not her usual perky self. <em>'Something's bothering her. Oh dear, don't tell me...' <em>"So, Kagura-chan, how are the plans for the wedding progressing?" she asked pleasantly.

Kagura shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Today we decided on the cutlery and Gin-chan chose the flowers."

Mitsuba sipped her tea. "And Sou-chan's been acting good?"

Kagura's frown deepened, and Mitsuba felt like sighing. _'My my, these two are hopeless. They'd be nowhere without my help.' _"I take it something happened. Would you like to talk about it?"

Kagura pursed her lips, clearly thinking about what to say. "Do you, uhh, remember that time when you, well, when we talked about how Sougo likes to nap underneath that one tree?"

"Of course, the Tree in the hidden corner. What about it?"

"Is it true that it'll eat and bury whoever acts as a pillow for another?"

It was dangerously close Mitsuba didn't spit out her tea. Her surprised laughter changed into cough-laughing when she accidentally inhaled some of the tea and Kagura rushed over to anxiously rub her back. Mitsuba pat her hand to calm down the poor girl who was ready to scream for help. "I'm – cough - fine I jus - cough – just got a drop of tea in m – cough – windpipe," she explained and cleared her throat. "So, I'm guessing Sou-chan told you that."

At Kagura's wary nod, Mitsuba let out a chuckle. "Oh, Sou-chan, he's so shy."

"I could say a lot of things about him, but shy isn't exactly at the top of my list."

"No, no, he is actually rather shy about certain things. But don't worry, Kagura-chan, the Tree doesn't eat people or bury them alive or whatever my little brother told you," Mitsuba said with a highly amused smile. "Tell me, what happened before this strange conversation you had?"

After a short briefing by Kagura, Mitsuba looked at the younger one with wide eyes. "He snuggled your stomach?" she asked softly. Then she was quiet for a while. She gave Kagura an analyzing look from head to toe and back up before asking: "Kagura-chan, are you pregnant?"

Kagura had never before blushed as red as this. She stared at Mitsuba with wide eyes, opening and closing her mouth silently, unable to form a single syllable. When she did find her voice, what came out was a squeak of something along the lines of "Bluargth?"

Mitsuba shook her head and raised her hands in defense. "No, I'm sorry to startle you, that is none of my business and I'm sorry I asked. The action you mentioned simply reminded me of the past," Mitsuba said and her eyes turned soft in remembrance. "You see, when Mother and Father were still alive, Sou-chan had the habit of rubbing his face against Mother's stomach. He occasionally did the same with me for about a year after Mother and Father died but he stopped doing that soon after he turned five. Obviously he can't consciously remember such things, since he was so small, but I thought that he might unconsciously connect that action with motherhood."

Kagura had no idea what to say to that, so she lifted her almost empty teacup to her lips with shaking hands and tried to calm her frazzled nerves. Mitsuba refilled their cups and they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts for a moment, before Mitsuba reopened the conversation. "Did you want to hear the true version of the legend?"

Kagura blinked at her uncomprehendingly. "What legend?" she asked.

Mitsuba chuckled. "The legend of the Tree in the hidden corner?"

Kagura smiled nervously. "Oh yeah, that legend. You know it?"

Mitsuba nodded and looked around before leaning forward to whisper secretively. "They say that the Tree is older than the palace, and that it has never fallen ill or lost a branch in a storm. The Tree has a powerful spirit within it, and that spirit is kind and nurturing to all who appreciate his home, which is the Tree. And so, it has been told that whenever two lovers show their affection underneath his branches, the spirit dwelling in the Tree gives his blessings to them and their children will grow to be as healthy and strong as his abode," she finished and grinned a little. "Do you know what that means?"

Kagura, still slightly awed and strangely giddy about the legend, shook her head. She looked at Mitsuba with her eyes shining in curiosity, wondering if there was more to the tale.

Mitsuba's grin widened a little as she leaned even closer to whisper in Kagura's ear: "It means that Sou-chan was planning to have babies with you since the beginning."

"MITSUBA-SAN!"

Kagura's mortified blabbering and Mitsuba's cheerful laughter rang in the halls and, while many were curious as to what the reason was, they decided that they didn't necessarily need to know.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I hope you liked it. We're on the final stretch now, one more chapter to go, believe it or not. Next time will be the official last chapter of Error, so even if it takes a long time (again) I hope to see you guys one more time!<strong>

**To everyone who is still reading, thank you for having faith and interest in my story.**

**Until next time!**

**~poakkis**

**PS. A lot of 'Guests' remembered to leave a name, and I sincerely thank you because now I know my replies (no matter how late they come) will reach their rightful recipients. There were still some who unfortunately might not receive the correct reply. I enjoy giving my reviewers personal replies, so if you want one, please leave a name of some sort. Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16

**SURPRISE, MOTHAFUCKAS! I AIN'T DEAD YET!**

**I did it, I finally finished it. "ABOUT TIME!", right? I know, I'm sorry, life isn't fair.**

**This story started back in May 2011. That makes it almost four years. Been a long ride, eh? I still can't believe how much love my idiot child has received in that time. You guys have been simply amazing, having faith and sticking around even when it seemed like the next chapter would never come out. I don't blame those who gave up at some point, heck, I was ready to give up at times. But then I came back to read your comments and realized that I couldn't just leave you guys hanging like that. You guys have given me more strength than you might be ready to believe. You're the best, never forget that.**

**Alas, the time has come. The last, but no less sincere than the rest, round of heartfelt thank yous:  
><em>celestialdimplez, anusin, sha5aditto, Mariohno<em>**_ (Thank you! If you ever find this fic again I hope you'll enjoy the last chapter as well!), **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, Dimensional Roamer, rinoaterra, Okikagu Hardcore Shipper, Panda musume **(ahahaha, sorry it took so long. Thank you so much and I hope you'll someday find and enjoy the last chapter as well!), **Eden **(...I'm sorry I ruined your hopes of finding an author who updates quite frequently...Thank you so much for your kind words, and I hope you'll someday find and enjoy the last chapter as well!), **chinasadistxxx **(Thank you! I'm sorry it took so long, and I'm also sorry to admit that any kind of citrus is impossible for me...I can't even write a kiss scene well...I hope you'll find and enjoy the last chapter as well, even if there is no citrus available!), **Guest **(I hope you'll recognize yourself. Thank you for your enthusiastic review, I'm sorry it took so long to update. I hope, if you ever find this fic again, that you'll find the last chapter as good as the previous ones!), **X-Crimson Fate-X, Ryuuta **(Thank you! At first Sougo had just accepted the fact that he couldn't get rid of her, but he was a little bit curious about her. Then it grew into something way more. I hope, if you're even reading this after so long, that this last chapter will satisfy you!), **Fictitiouslove, Daniloveswriting, Twisty Emerald **(Thanks for all the letters!), **kaitothegreat, awesome-sadist, Alexia Colette, lanzky, Itherael, kazuki-chan018 **(thank you so much! I'm really not that good, I have a long way to go yet. I have some ideas for OkiKagu fics, but unfortunately writing them down has become an issue, as you can see. I hope that, if you ever stumble across this fic again, that you'll enjoy the last chapter as well!), **Yuu'Kata.211, Hikari Kashiwazaki, ChibiHyouka, SumiEvans, Haruka2016, korin-chan14, , haku-maiden, darkcherrypop, Guest **(I hope you recognize yourself. Thank you so much, I'm sorry it took so long to update. If you're reading this, I hope you'll enjoy the last chapter as well!),** soralove45, anon **(the first Gintama fic? Wow, I'm honored, thank you so much! I'm sorry the update is so late, but I hope you'll read and enjoy this at some time!), **El **(teehee, I have to tease him a little bit at times! If you're reading this, I hope you'll enjoy the last chapter!), **ma-chan-chan, Alert1, Guest **(I'm taking a wild guess and say that those five reviews were left by you. Thank you so much! Your reviews were so lively they made me grin! If you're reading this I hope this last chapter doesn't disappoint you!), **Jenchen **(Really?! I'm so happy and honored, thank you! I don't even know what to say to answer your kind words. I just hope that, if you ever find this, you'll enjoy the last chapter as well!),**loveanime1999, Guest **(I hope you recognize yourself. Thank you! I hope this last chapter doesn't disappoint!), **Nikkss **(hey, another night-writer! Thank you for your kind words! I'm sorry to say that this is indeed the last chapter, I don't want to ruin the story by trying to add stuff that I would have to force my brain to come up with. This is how it was always supposed to end, more or less. All good things come to an end, now it's Error's turn. I hope you'll enjoy the last chapter, sorry it took so long!), **LazyAssOtaku and Kimchi **(Hi, I do remember you. You have a cute and easy to remember nick. To be honest, I was surprised by your letter. I rarely get reviews, or letters in this case, that are written with so much heart and honesty without walls. I have to admit that I both chuckled and cried when I read it. I felt so immensely happy, warm and grateful to have received your words. I do treasure my readers, that's the main reason I publish anything nowadays. I always answer in hopes of making someone smile or happy or just noticed. It makes me so happy to know that my words have made a difference to someone, no matter how small and insignificant in the long run it might be. Thank you. I think I know how you feel, I'm quite uncertain as to how I could convey this feeling to you in words. I think I could describe it as a hug, a really big, tight bearhug that gives a warm and fuzzy feeling inside but also makes you tear up because it's a farewell. Well, I sincerely hope it is not an eternal farewell. One thing I wish you to know is that words will always reach me. I will read every single review I ever get, no matter how far in the future they might come, and I will answer if I can. I won't forget the kindness and strength my readers have given me. And this letter will surely remain with me as the most unusual yet most touching review I have ever received. I want to end this letter with words of encouragement, even if I'm not too good at those. It seems like you already know how shitty life can sometimes feel, but I want to tell you that it'll be alright. Some hurdles in life can seem like you could never overcome them, but as long as you don't give in to the grim thoughts (as my grandpa called them) there will always be a tomorrow waiting for you. That's something I've learned with my own experiences. I'm glad to have been a part of your life, and I wish you all the luck in the world, I really do (a little movie reference, know where it's from?). Until our next meeting, take care)._**  
><strong>**This journey wouldn't have been possible without you guys!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter! Now, I usually don't do dedications or special stuff like that, but this time I'll have to make an exception. I'm making an exception because there was one reviewer whose letter to me a few weeks ago got me rolling again, slowly but surely. It's all thanks to this person that the last chapter of Error is here today. I don't know about phenomenal but, **_Kimchi_**, this one is for you.**

* * *

><p><strong>Happily ever afters are complete BS and just another way to ruin children's sense of reality<strong>

The doors of Kagura's bridal chambers banged open and half a dozen maids marched in, their loud chorus of "Good morning, My Lady" making her jump out of bed in fright. Still half-asleep, Kagura looked at them wildly with her fists raised up and a mighty yell of: "You'll never take me alive!" coming out of her mouth slightly jumbled. She hadn't slept well at all, both because of wedding jitters and because she was sleeping alone (some stupid and illogical tradition, again, here to make her life difficult), and her sleep-deprived brain had serious trouble trying to catch up with the situation.

Otae stepped forward and bowed to her slightly. "My Lady, we have come to help you with your preparations for the ceremony."

Kagura blinked slowly and looked out the window. "...it isn't even dawn yet."

Otae merely smiled. "My Lady, there is much that needs to be done and time is of the essence. We have not a second to waste", she said and snapped her fingers. The maids behind her saluted. "So, shall we get started?"

Kagura really didn't like the smile on her face at that moment.

* * *

><p>Contrary to popular belief, Sougo didn't end up with the longer stick. Sure, he was allowed to sleep until dawn, but unlike Kagura who was pampered (coughtorturedcough) and fed in the comfort of her room he was saddled with the part of entertaining their wedding guests. Most of them had already arrived during the past few days and they had to be tended to as well as those that would be arriving that morning. Breakfast, idle socializing, games, talk of politics, lame jokes, forced politeness: that had been his life since the first guest arrived and would fill his schedule until the ceremony at noon. Not Sougo's idea of an ideal morning. Especially since the Yato would be arriving in time to join him for breakfast. Oh joy. Don't get him wrong, he rather likes her relatives. It's simply the concept of eating with them that's not very high on his list.<p>

And so, while Otae and her army of maids were busy curling Kagura's hair, Sougo welcomed the six representatives of his bride's clan.

"Welcome, members of the Yato clan. I'm glad to see you could join us on this day and give your blessings to our union", Sougo formally greeted his guests.

Umibouzu stepped forward and clasped the younger man's shoulder. "I have both longed for and dreaded this day, but I am proud to say my daughter has chosen well. While it is hard to let her go I know you will treat her as she deserves."

It might have been just his imagination, but Sougo could swear Umibouzu had just both accepted him and told him off for his mistake at the Yato party. Not sure how to respond, he nodded seriously and turned to face the other members, most of them being Kagura's cousins and one he recognized as her muted grandmother. Kaguya, was it? Sougo remembered the way Kagura had spent much of her time at the party with the old lady. They were obviously very close, so he was glad she had come. But then again, he could also spot one face whom he knew Kagura wouldn't appreciate attending all that much. Plus, there was one face he could not find.

"Will her brother not be joining us?" he bluntly asked Umibouzu as they started on their way to the dining hall for breakfast.

Umibouzu sighed and frowned deeply. "Unfortunately Kamui has gone missing. He up and left for an assignment around five weeks ago and there has been no sign nor word of him so far. I'm afraid he won't be here, much to Kagura's disappointment."

* * *

><p>"No more! Stop, I'm begging you! Please let me go!" Kagura cried out pitifully.<p>

"Please don't cry, Lady Kagura, you will smear your make up."

"I don't care! Just put an end to my misery already!"

Otae sighed from the sidelines. "My Lady, please, control yourself. I know that this is a big day for you and getting wedding jitters is absolutely acceptable, but-"

"Does this look like wedding jitters to you?! I'm telling you I can't breathe in this thing!"

"You can gather enough air to yell at us, so you are in no danger. You chose this dress yourself, so please bear with it."

"If I had known you would cut off my air supply I would've chosen something else", Kagura gasped out as the two maids gave one last pull on the strings at the back of her dress before tying them up. She had just fallen in love with the floor length dress with slight ruffles at the hem and neckline and some glittering beads adorning the front. But she had forgotten how tightly Otae insisted on tying up corsets...forget about gracefully walking down the aisle, she could hardly even breathe!

"My Lady Kagura, there are some visitors for you at the door. Would you meet them?" one of the younger maids informed as she hesitantly approached the bride.

Apparently someone had knocked on the door during her agony. Now all dressed up, Kagura stiffly turned around to face the door. "Sure, let them in."

The maid didn't even make it to the door as two figures let themselves in. Two ladies of very different ages dressed in their finest, one making her heart soar and the other causing her stomach to go and see whether it would be possible to reach the core of the Earth.

"Grandma Kaguya!" Kagura gleefully cheered as she struggled to waddle to the open arms of the old lady as quickly as possible.

Kaguya met her halfway and gave her a bone crushing hug with strength one wouldn't expect from such an old, thin lady. Her steel colored eyes twinkled as she pulled back and smiled at her grandchild with unveiled pride on her features. She then turned her gaze to the maids still in the room and waved them away. Kagura could see how Otae's eyebrow twitched at being ordered around, so she quickly intervened: "I want to speak with my relatives in private, so if you could all leave for now? I'll call you if I need you before the ceremony."

That somewhat pacified Otae, who bowed her head and lead the maid army out the door. As the doors shut, Kagura happily turned her full attention to her grandmother.

"I'm so happy you could make it, Grandma. This is a huge day for me and it means the world to me to have you here, especially since Mami..." her voice drifted off and she took a deep breath to keep the sudden longing at bay. Kaguya gave her a knowing look and patted her hand.

"Sakura would have been proud of you, little Kagura."

Kagura's mood immediately plummeted as the smooth voice of her mother's cousin sounded out the words Kaguya could no longer speak out loud. Kagura's eyes hardened as she turned to glare at the other woman who had come to visit her. "I don't remember inviting you, Sakuya. Who let you in?" she asked with as much venom as she could muster into her voice.

Sakuya seemed unfazed by the hostility. "Oh, you sent the invitation to the clan as one for the head and his entourage. I'm simply part of that entourage your father was able to gather. You know how busy everyone always is, especially now that spring has woken up all kinds of troublemakers after the winter", Sakuya lightly conversed as she sat down on one of the armchairs. Kagura was instantly pissed off (coughjealouscough) by how Sakuya seemed to fit right into it in her elegant green dress.

Kagura crossed her arms. "And why, may I ask, did you even want to come?" she asked. She knew she was lashing out, and she knew exactly why: the time the vixen had attempted to seduce _her _fiancé was still all too fresh in her mind.

Sakuya looked at her for a long moment in silence before her eyes turned ever so slightly downcast. "Is it so hard for you to believe that I come with honest feelings of happiness for you? I have no intentions of ruining your relationship, never had, and I apologize if my actions have made it seem so."

Kagura's hands curled into tight fists as she opened her mouth to yell at the woman sitting so casually in her bridal chambers, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her in mid-motion. Kagura turned to stare at her grandmother in utter confusion and not a small amount of betrayal, but only received a warning shake of the head from her. Kaguya then took both of Kagura's hands in her own and forced her fists to open and eventually relax. Then she smiled and gave them a reassuring squeeze before leading her over to where Sakuya had stood up from her chair. Kagura warily gazed up into those green eyes and decided to do what she did best.

Be blunt.

"Why did you try to seduce MY man at the party?" she demanded.

Sakuya looked honestly bemused by her question. "I wasn't trying to seduce him. I told him that as well."

Kagura bristled. "You liar! I saw how you were acting around him!"

Sakuya sighed, and if not for Kaguya's objection Kagura would've punched her. "No matter how many times I explain it to you you still won't believe me. That is my way of communicating and yes, it does cause misunderstandings quite often but really, Kagura, you are the only one whose insecurities keep you from believing my sincerety."

"I'm not -!"

"Yes, you are", Sakuya calmly cut her off. "You are insecure because your mother wasn't there to appreciate and guide you. Insecure because you were late to bloom and everyone else around you was getting engaged and married. Insecure because an environment like the House of Yato is clearly no place for someone like you who needs a level of consistency and many people close to her." At this point Sakuya smiled, and Kagura felt like it was the first time she saw it as real and not a coy mask. "That is exactly why I'm so happy Kamui was able to arrange things between you and the prince."

Kagura was stunned. Yes, she had been jealous of the beautiful and lady-like Sakuya who could easily converse with anyone and do jobs like a proper Yato, but had she really been so deep in her loathing that she couldn't accept another possibility? No one else disliked Sakuya as much as she always had. But still, years of dark feelings wouldn't disappear so fast, so she gave her mother's cousin one last wary look.

"You really aren't after Sougo?"

Sakuya laughed at her. "No, though I have to admit you have good taste. I'm a taken woman, and I don't think my intended would much appreciate it if I went after your man."

Kagura's eyes went as wide as saucers and she could hear her grandmother's breathy laughter. "You're engaged?! Since when?!"

"Oh, he wanted to keep it under wraps since your marriage was looming in the near future. Not many know of it even inside the clan. "

Kagura was stunned. "And just who -?" she started, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Yes?" she called out instead, still feeling quite out of it from the whole confrontation.

The door swung open and Umibouzu stepped in. "It is time, Kagura-chan."

Kaguya and Sakuya gave her some last encouragements before leaving the room and setting off for the church. Kagura did one last check on herself and turned to her waiting father.

"Papi?"

Umibouzu gazed steadily at her for a moment before bursting into tears. "You're so beautiful, my precious daughter! Just like your mother on the day we married! Ahhh, now I understand the agony her father went through! Sakura, is it alright if I won't let our little girl marry after all?! I do want grandchildren but maybe Kamui could -!"

Kagura efficiently shut up her yelling father by throwing her full length mirror at him.

"Are you done, baldie? I have a wedding procession waiting for me outside", she dryly commented and raised her skirts to step over her fallen father and into the hallway.

Umibouzu recovered and caught up with his daughter, offering his arm to her. Kagura took it and they walked for a while in silence.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Umibouzu asked as they came to the grand staircase and some servants, who were preparing the banquet, stopped working to bow and curtsy for them until they walked past.

Kagura slightly glared at him. "A little late for that, baldie. And yes, I love the bastard, so I doubt I would ever marry if it weren't him waiting at the end of the aisle."

Umibouzu smiled a slightly bittersweet smile at her. "I'm proud of you, Kagura. So is your mother."

Kagura swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled at her father the brightest smile she could muster. "I just wish she were here to see me. And give a nice left hook to the sadist at the banquet."

Umibouzu laughed at that. "Oh, don't worry, Kaguya has that covered! She is your maternal grandmother so that tradition falls on her anyway. Plus she quite eagerly volunteered when we discussed this after your engagement party. She's very excited to see you get married and produce heirs to her line."

Kagura blushed at that and quickly turned her eyes forward to escape his gaze. As the wedding procession came to view, though, something suddenly struck her.

"Papi?" she called with a small, confused voice. "Where's Kamui?"

Umibouzu's eyes turned dark with regret as he kissed her cheek and let her hand go so he could get to the church before her procession. He answered her question as gently as he could. "No one knows his current whereabouts. I'm sorry, but I don't think he's coming today."

Kagura couldn't help feeling utterly disappointed and hurt by the fact as she joined her procession and started the bridal march to the church.

* * *

><p>As the bridal procession entered the church sprinkling white flowers everywhere and singing songs of the bride's coming, Sougo swept his gaze over the faces until he found his sister. Mitsuba had insisted on joining the procession despite her health still being a little unstable, but as he looked at her face, Sougo saw no signs of illness in her. Mitsuba's eyes were glassy with unshed tears as she sang her heart out and gave flowers to the children that had come. She had obviously chosen the part of the one who would bless the marriage with hopes and wishes for many healthy children. Sougo smiled at that. He knew Mitsuba had wanted children, especially after she had met Hijikata, and that she was overjoyed by the knowledge that her brother was finally getting married. She was radiant, and at that moment he was thankful to every god and deity that his sister was able to be there on this day.<p>

As the procession finally settled down and took their places at the front singing a softer melody, she finally entered. Sougo swore he had never felt more love for the violent China monster than at the moment she took her first step into the church and lifted her shockingly blue eyes to meet his. She was so beautiful – and comical, how on earth could she even walk in that dress? – as she walked towards him, her lips turning up into that cute (don't you dare tell anyone he called it that) smile as she came closer. And he wondered, how had it all come to this? How was it possible that, despite all the initial hate, misunderstandings, heartbreak and innumerable insults and even broken bones, they were there, at that moment, the two of them. And he decided, as she was close enough for her to take his hand, that he didn't care. She was there, his sister was there, everything he wanted was in his grasp.

But it was all shattered with a crash of painted glass, screaming and panic, and in the confusion he could see as if in slow motion how she was pulled away from him, her hand still outstretched towards him and her wide eyes locked with his equally stunned ones. He reached for her, but time sped up, and she was far, getting further away from him with each footstep, and -

"KAGURA!"

* * *

><p><em>'What's going on?' <em>was the only question that Kagura could think of. She had been walking down the aisle, had forgotten all about her stupid brother the moment her eyes had found Sougo's. She had been so happy and warm and had just wanted to raise her skirts and run to him. Then, just as she was about to finally take his hand, there had been a crash and suddenly she was hefted over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried off. Oh, and the sadist finally seemed to have learned her name. So maybe the situation wasn't all that bad.

Kagura snapped out of her thoughts as a tree branch slapped against her face. _'When did we enter a forest? Moreover, where the hell is this sucker trying to take me?!' _Kagura began pounding her kidnapper's back with all her might and tried to wriggle around as much as she could to throw the bastard off balance. He (or at least Kagura was quite sure it was a he, unless the person had even smaller boobs than she did) paid no attention to her struggles and his step barely faltered under her efforts. She was getting quite desperate and contemplated biting him or ripping her dress to get more room for movement when he finally came to a stop. Kagura was beyond surprised when she was carefully put down and the kidnapper put his hands on her shoulders in a proud gesture. Forget about surprised, she was shocked. She knew this fucker. He was covered up from head to toe, but she would recognize those eyes anywhere, since they were the same as her own.

"I told you it was all going to be okay", he gloated and she just knew he was grinning under the wraps on his face.

"Kamui, you fucking asshat! The hell do you think you're doing?!" Kagura screeched at him. She threw his hands off of her shoulders and pushed him. "Crashing my wedding, what were you thinking?!"

Kamui whipped out a letter from his cloak. "You sent this to the old man not three days after you went back to the palace. ("You went through someone else's mail again?!") You sounded pretty miserable, so I decided to amend my mistake and took the first job possible to set out and plan your escape. Took some time to get everything settled and ready to go, so I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

Kagura could only listen in stunned silence as Kamui prattled on about how he had planned out a great escape and had a new life and identity waiting for her in another country. Kamui had done all this for her? _Kamui?_ Her supposedly heartless older brother had gone to the ends of the earth to construct a new life for her because he felt guilty about ruining her current one?

This day was just full of surprises.

Kagura shook her head and interrupted her brother's tale of how he had had to catch five crocodiles and a water buffalo to impress the chief of a village into giving him a hut for his sister. "Kamui, that letter is old news."

Kamui stopped talking and stared at her for a moment. He then cocked his head to the side. "Old news?"

"_Really _old news. We made up a couple of days after that and started planning the wedding."

Kamui was very silent.

"Everything is fine between Sougo and I."

"..."

"We love each other."

"..."

"And I really do want to marry him."

"...oh."

"It was very sweet of you to think of me like that. Just, never do that again, okay? It's giving me the creeps."

Kamui regarded her for a minute and let out a thoughtful hum. "I guess you want me to return you to the wedding, then?"

Kagura sighed tiredly. "Yes, I would appreciate that."

"Nah, I don't think I'll do that."

Kagura gaped at her brother. "What?!"

Kamui closed his eyes in the way that only happened when he had a shit eating grin on his face. "If he doesn't come after you himself, how am I supposed to believe he'll be the man I initially evaluated him to be? He has some worrying grades on his report card this year, so I want to give him a chance to redeem himself before next year."

"What are you, a grade school teacher?! This isn't a joke!"

"I'm not joking, I do have yearly report cards on him from the time he was twelve."

Kagura didn't know whether she was feeling more exasperated or creeped out by her brother. "This is ridiculous!"

"I agree."

Kagura whipped around to face the murderous demon (err, her groom) that was forcing his way through the undergrowth towards them. Sougo's eyes were positively red and his glare was locked on Kamui. _'Wait, does he realize it's Kamui?' _

"Sougo, this is -"

"You're unhurt?"

Kagura was taken aback by the way he was acting. Why was he still stalking closer like that? "I'm alright, but -"

"Good, then I'll spare him the torture and simply end his life."

Kagura felt a cold shiver race down her back. He was serious. This was nothing like that time at the duel or at any other moment she had witnessed him in. This Sougo was going to kill her brother in cold blood, no questions asked, no hesitation. He was emitting pure blood lust.

And Kamui, being Kamui, could sense that. Kagura could only watch in horror as her brother's eyes took on the same glint that she could see in Sougo's eyes. Kamui always loved challenges, he enjoyed strong opponents, and he enjoyed killing them.

As the two faced each other and prepared to strike Kagura knew she had no choice. They would kill each other. She only hoped they could find the sense to stop in time.

Just as they sprung forward, Kagura leaped in-between them, spread her arms and screamed: "STOP!"

What happened next was utterly anti-climatic. Sougo was so shocked he dropped his sword and collided face first with Kagura, sending them both down to the ground in a painful heap, and Sakuya came flying out of the trees and kicked Kamui to the side of his head, sending him flying into a tree trunk.

Kagura tried to blink her vision clear enough to see what had happened when she registered the new addition to the scene. "Sakuya? What are you doing here?"

Sakuya kept her dull green eyes on the fallen form of Kamui and her face was eerily neutral. Instead of answering Kagura's question she started what seemed to be a confession: "I don't know how much you know of his plan, but I can tell you that most of the things in your life this past year has been all in it more or less. I assume he didn't expect His Majesty to leave you behind at the party, but everything before that was happening in the palm of his hand. He even knew of Her Majesty's collapse before anyone else and had me help him put you two in a tight spot. He knew you would blow up in jealousy if I so much as greeted your fiancé."

Sougo disentangled himself from a stunned Kagura and slowly stood up. "A plan? What are you talking about?"

"What I mean to say is that this hare-brained battle maniac thought he could orchestrate your marriage to become what he believed would be perfect for little Kagura here. He was also concerned about whether the infamous woman-hater SM prince could find anyone to marry either."

Sougo's eyebrow twitched a little at that. "Then how did _you _manage to arrive here at the exact moment you did?"

Sakuya shrugged, the most unlady-like gesture Kagura had ever seen her make. "The moment this moron chose an unbelievably easy mission far from here I knew he was up to something. An anonymous person crashing a royal wedding seems just like something he would do, so as soon as Your Majesty took off I followed you."

Sakuya walked over to Kamui and smoothly kicked him over onto his stomach so she could sit on him comfortably. Kagura was flabbergasted by the way she was treating the killing machine most of their own clan was wary to anger.

"I do apologize for this dimwit's behavior, little Kagura, Your Highness. He doesn't have much gifts in the thinking area", Sakuya said with an exasperated smile.

Kagura was still staring with an open mouth as Sougo pulled her to her feet and checked her for injuries. "W-why would you..."

"I think I understand the situation a little better now", Sougo commented as he turned his gaze from his bride to the prone form of Kamui and then to an apologetic looking Sakuya. "I never want to know how you two ended up together."

Kagura whipped her head around to stare at Sougo. "What?! So that would mean that Sakuya is engaged to _KAMUI_?!"

Sakuya's smile turned into the usual sly look that was natural for her. "Yes, he insisted that he wouldn't make it official until his sister was married off. Said that it would just make you depressed and even more pitiable if even he could find someone before you did."

Well, nice to know her brother had faith in her.

Kagura heaved a heavy sigh and leaned on Sougo. "I don't understand anything anymore. This day has been too much. I was supposed to just get married and get a happily ever after...though I guess I lost that one the moment the sadist came into the picture."

"I'm going to drop you", Sougo threatened.

"No you aren't, I'm cute, you love me and I'm pregnant."

A little bird chirped on a tree branch to fill the silence that had settled among the humans. The first one to react was actually Kamui, who sprang up with enough force to knock Sakuya to the ground.

"You're WHAT?! With whose baby?!"

Kagura could feel the veins in her forehead popping. "Whose do you think it is?!"

In a blink of an eye Sougo had grabbed Kamui by the scruff of his cloak and pulled him threateningly face to face. "If something has happened to my child because of your rough handling of my wife, you can be sure I will use every single method I know to make your life hell."

And Kamui just had to be a smart ass. "Actually, you never went through with the ceremony, so she isn't your wife yet."

"Before you guys begin a fight that I risked two lives to prevent", Kagura yelled over the two's growling, "I would very much like to get married and out of this dirty dress. I have a banquet to attend and I'm not going to miss out on all that food because you two brothers by marriage get along so swimmingly."

Sougo was on his feet in a second and lifted Kagura into his arms. Ignoring her protests, he started leading the way back through the forest with the other two following, Sakuya smacking Kamui in the back of the head for getting her dress dirty.

* * *

><p>"Are you feeling okay? You're sure you don't want to see a doctor?"<p>

Kagura felt her irritation rise fairly quickly as they danced among the other couples. Everyone had been pacified by the poorest explanation ever ("This is a tradition I learned on my latest job. It includes someone stealing the bride and then the groom has to pass some test to earn the right to actually marry her. I thought it would be interesting.") and the wedding had ended without further problems. They had changed into clean clothes and the banquet had been going on for hours since then. And all that time Sougo had been pestering her about her condition.

"Sougo, for the last time before I'll roundhouse kick you through a window, I'm fine. Stop asking already", she hissed at him as he lightly twirled them around to avoid crashing into Umibouzu and Kaguya.

"I know you're tough, but the early stages of pregnancy are delicate. That's my child you're carrying so I'm entitled to care for its well being", Sougo countered in his usual deadpan tone.

"If it's going to be like this for the next seven or so months I'm going to end up killing you somewhere along the way", Kagura darkly grumbled.

"You wouldn't."

"You sound so sure."

"Because you would be heartbroken if I actually wasn't here and we both know it."

Kagura had no comeback for that so she stubbornly turned her face away. She could feel the chuckle vibrating in his chest even though it was too quiet for her to hear. Suddenly he pulled away from her slightly.

"Come", he simply said and lead her out of the banquet hall and eventually outside. Kagura was reminded of another night that seemed so long ago and without much thought kicked off her shoes and grabbed them in her hand. They walked in the night alone, always farther from the celebrating until they could no longer hear it at all. Kagura smiled as she realized where they were going and pranced ahead.

She came to a stop under the leaves of one particular tree that had been there since the beginning. Without really realizing it her free hand rose to rest on her stomach where a life blessed by the spirit was growing strong and healthy. A pair of hands came to rest on her stomach as well and she turned around in his arms to face him properly. It was one of those moments in time when you knew what the other was thinking without really saying anything.

"You know, Mitsuba-san said that this is what you were thinking of since the beginning", Kagura teased with an evil smirk.

Sougo didn't even bat an eye as he answered: "Well, I would've needed an heir anyway and I was stuck with you 'til kingdom come so I had little choice."

Kagura scowled at that and got ready to hit him with her free hand when it was suddenly grabbed by one of his. He swiftly took the shoes and threw them out of reach. Kagura glared at him and he smirked back.

"I learn from experience", he gloated before his smirk faded away. "This time it will go my way."

Kagura's question died in her throat as he lowered his forehead on hers, locking gazes with her and leaving her no escape route.

"It has to be you. No one else will do anymore."

Kagura was hit by the strongest sense of deja vu. This had happened before. But now she understood. His eyes, that smoldering, dark, possessive look in his eyes, the feelings it raised in her. He had expressed it all that night, and now he wanted an answer. Well, she sure would give him one. After all, she wanted him, she loved him, and now she had him.

"Of course. I'm the only one who can put up with your shit and still be able to look at your face day after day", she smirked, willing her eyes to convey just how much more she meant.

"And I'm willing to bet no one else could take your domestic violence and still want to share the rest of his days with you", he smirked back, and the spark in his own eyes let her know that he did get her message.

And as their lips met in a way they would many times more before the end of their days, she knew her childhood dreams of marriage were ruined. But reality was just that much more interesting than silly fairy tales.

* * *

><p><strong>FINISHED! And you got your love confessions and kisses and mushy mushy OkiKagu fluff! You'd better be happy!<strong>

**Oh gods, it's really over now. Thank you for your patience and all the kind words I've received these past almost four years. I hope to meet you again one day!**

**Over and out.**

**~poakkis**

**PS. If you're wondering when Sougo managed to get Kagura pregnant, just a reminder: they do share a bed. At least most of the time. In their culture it's acceptable, almost expected, to indulge in sex during the engagement period. Plus they acknowledged their feelings for each other almost three months before the wedding. Go figure. I can't write citrus, so I'm not writing the scene no matter how much you might beg.**


End file.
